I decided to take a stab at making panna cotta after the amazing pre-dessert panna cotta we tried at Craft the week before. Upon googling, the first link that showed up with David Lebovitz's "Perfect Panna Cotta Recipe". It was a sign - well, at least I thought it was a sign since his chocolate macaron recipe was a winner. The cheapest berries at the market were the blackberries so that's what we decided to macerate for the topping.
Perfect Panna Cotta
Adapted from David Lebovitz via Secrets From My Tuscan Kitchen by Judy Witts
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 packets powdered gelatin
3 tablespoons cold water
Lightly oil 4 custard cups with a neutral-tasting oil.
Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan or microwave. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm.
Macerated Blackberries
Blackberries
Sugar
Aged balsamic vinegar
Combine and let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Drizzle the blackberries on top of the panna cotta.
The panna cotta was really, really rich. If it wasn't for the blackberries, it would have been too much. Macerating berries with sugar and balsamic vinegar is super yummy though so I will definitely try it again with strawberries and maybe Thomas Keller's PC recipe. His uses buttermilk and sour cream so I think it will cut the richness out alot.