Dissolve the gelatine powder in hot water and set it aside.
Place the rest of the ingredients in a medium pot and whisk until combined.
Bring the pot over medium heat. When it begins to boil, turn off the stove and add the activated gelatine. Stir to combine.
Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes before pouring it into ramekins.
Grease with cooking spray or butter (6) ½ cup ramekins, or silicone muffin molds, or glasses (if you won’t unmold the Panna Cotta, the greasing step is not necessary).
Fill each ramekin with the Panna Cotta mixture and refrigerate for 4 hours or until completely set.
MAKE CARAMEL SAUCE:
Add sugar and water into a heavy-bottomed pot. Once the water has combined with the sugar, place it over medium heat to caramelize.
It will take 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the pot. During this time, you shouldn’t touch or stir the caramel. If the sides begin to crystalize, it is a good trick to use a wet brush to gently toss that sugar to combine with the rest of the caramel.
The color that you’ll be looking for is an amber caramel, neither too light brown nor dark. Be careful that it doesn’t burn. With this recipe, you’ll need to be next to the pot, just staring at it as it could burn easily if you’re distracted.
Once you achieve this nice amber color, remove it from heat. Add the heavy cream and whisk to combine.
Some steam will be released due to the temperature shock, so using the cream at room temperature will minimize it. Then, add the butter and combine.
Place the pot over the stove one more time, and simmer until you see the caramel making some bubbles (1 to 2 minutes).
Remove the caramel from the heat, add vanilla extract and combine.
Let the caramel chill before using.
SERVE:
Once set, serve the Panna Cotta with the homemade caramel sauce and some whipped cream on top.
Notes
You can keep the caramel in the fridge in an airtight container. Then, before using it, you can reheat it in a pot to get a pouring caramel again.
When unmolding the Panna Cotta, the easiest way is to use silicone molds, like silicone muffin molds.