Swedish Cream

This is much like a panna cotta with the addition of sour cream, making it a little richer, creamier, and thicker than a normal panna cotta. With the addition of sour cream it pairs wonderfully with berries and all the stone fruits of summer. It couldn't be simpler and works well to make ahead of time. If you wanted to turn these out, as opposed to serving in a dish, you might want to increase the amount of gelatin to 1 tsp.

Swedish Cream -makes 6 small 1/3 cup servings
1 cup cream or half and half or milk*
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp powdered gelatin (dissolved in 5 tsp water)
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

*use milk if you want something lighter or cream if you are looking for something very rich

Combine the gelatin and water in a small bowl, make sure all the gelatin gets hydrated. Let sit for 5 minutes. In a separate pot scald (heat just before boiling) the cream with sugar and vanilla bean (if using). Take off the heat, add in the gelatin and stir to dissolve (remove the vanilla bean). Put the sour cream in a separate bowl and slowly pour the hot cream into the sour cream , stirring with each addition to make sure the sour cream gets completely mixed in, and then add in the vanilla extract and almond extract. Pour into serving dishes and and refrigerate until cool and set (at least 4 hours). I like to serve the Swedish cream with fresh fruit tossed with a little sugar.