Vanilla bean Panna Cotta

If you haven't ever tried panna cotta before and have no idea what it is, imagine if Jello and vanilla ice cream got together and had babies! It's wiggles like Jello, but melts in your mouth like creamy vanilla ice cream.
You can splurge and split a real vanilla bean, or you can use vanilla bean paste... my newest and greatest find! It's all of the thousands of tiny little seeds already scraped out of the vanilla pod. One little teaspoon is equivalent to one whole vanilla bean!
ENJOY!*** Note *** although this turned out soooo yummy, for some reason all of the vanilla seeds sunk to the bottom. Does anyone know why this happened or how to prevent it? Maybe something to do with using skim milk rather than whole?

Vanilla bean panna cotta

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 1/2 cups (375ml) cream


• 1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk


• 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste


• 1/2 cup (115g) caster sugar


• 2 1/2 tsp gelatin powder


• fresh berries to serve

Place the cream and milk in a saucepan. Use a small sharp knife to split the vanilla bean lengthwise, then scrape the seeds from inside the bean. Add the seeds and bean to the saucepan. (or 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste) Slowly bring to the boil over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
Discard bean from cream mixture. Add sugar and return to a low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until sugar dissolves.
Place 2 tbs of boiling water in a small heatproof bowl. Sprinkle over gelatin. Bring a small saucepan of water to boil. Remove from heat. Sit the bowl of gelatin in the water and stir until dissolved. Cool slightly, then stir into the cream mixture.
Lightly oil 6 x 1/2 cup (125ml) panna cotta moulds or ramekins. Place on a tray and pour in cream mixture. Refrigerate for 4 hours.
To serve, break the seal by inserting a small knife between the panna cotta and the mould. Turn onto a serving plate and shake to release. Serve dish with fresh berries.