Panna Cotta with Peaches

Ingredients for peach panna cotta — for 8 portions in cups of about 150 ml capacity.

Clean the peaches and cut them into large pieces. Add 50 g sugar (and the rum) and purée until smooth.

Heat the cream, milk and 100 g sugar on the stove until hot, but without boiling. Add the vanilla extract and remove from the heat. Leave to cool to room temperature.

Pour the gelatin into cold water and leave to swell for 10-15 minutes. Then dissolve it over a water bath, stirring constantly, until liquid.

From here on there are four options:

• combine everything together for a homogeneous mixture;
• make separate layers – a milk one and a fruit one;
• set aside part of the fruit purée for a finishing layer and mix the rest;
• get creative and make three different layers.

Option 1 – Add the gelatin to the puréed peaches, stir well and combine with the cream. Stir until homogeneous. Divide among cups and refrigerate.

Option 2 – Add half of the gelatin to the fruit mixture, stir well and divide among the cups. Refrigerate until set. During this time the remaining gelatin will set in the cup in which you dissolved it. Reheat it over a water bath until liquid, add it to the cream and stir well. Distribute over the fruit part, which has already set, and refrigerate for another 2-3 hours until the cream layer also sets. For this option you can use crème caramel moulds, which you dip in hot water for 5-6 seconds and turn the panna cotta out onto a dessert plate.

Option 3 – Set aside one third of the fruit purée, which will be used as a finishing layer. To the rest of the purée add 3/4 of the gelatin and add it to the cream mixture. Stir well. Divide among cups and refrigerate for about 3 hours until the panna cotta sets. Liquefy the remaining gelatin over a water bath, add it to the puréed peaches, stir well and distribute over the panna cotta.

Option 4 – Takes more time, but if you feel like it, you can make a three-layered panna cotta – a pure fruit layer, a layer combining fruit purée and cream, and a pure milk layer. Set aside 1/3 of the fruit purée and mix with 1/3 of the cream. Distribute the gelatin equally among the three mixtures and stir well. Pour the fruit layer into moulds and refrigerate for about 1 hour until set, and leave the other two mixtures at room temperature. Take the moulds out of the fridge, add the milk-fruit layer and refrigerate for another 1 hour until the second layer sets too. Finally distribute the cream mixture and refrigerate. To turn out the moulds, dip them in hot water for 5-6 seconds.