Vanilla panna cotta with poached plums and figs

A quick vanilla panna cotta recipe which I've been making for a few years at Christmas with some poached fruit, but would be equally good in the summer with a fruit coulis. This year I found this recipe with plums and figs in a Christmassy syrup, but I also really enjoyed the poached pears from last year which can be found under the recipe section of this blog. This recipe was found on bbc food.

Ingredients:

For the panna cotta-

1 litre/1¾ pint double cream

500ml/18fl oz milk

100g/3½oz sugar

2 vanilla pods, split and seeds scraped out or 1 tsp of vanilla paste

15g/½oz gelatine leaves

For the poached fruit-

500ml/18fl oz red wine

200g/7oz crème de cassis

100g/3½oz sugar

½ bunch rosemary

1 cinnamon stick

4 plums, stoned and cut into quarters

4 figs, cut into quarters

Method:

1. Put the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla pod and seeds in a pan, and slowly bring to the boil.

2. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft then squeeze the remove any excess water. I used 10 gelatine leaves (came to 17g) but the set was quite firm so 9 would have probably been enough. Once the cream mixture has come to the boil, stir in the gelatine until dissolved. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug and discard the vanilla pod. 

3. Pour the mixture into moulds or glasses, and leave to cool before transferring to the fridge to set.

4. Put the red wine, crème de cassis, sugar, rosemary and spices in a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for half an hour to infuse the spices. I reduced this down for quite a while longer to produce a sticky sauce so this can also be done if you prefer.

5. Add the plums and figs to the red wine, and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly. Set aside to cool completely. 

6. Serve the cooked fruits with the set panna cotta.