Best made with tender young rhubarb that hasn't become stringy.

Ingredients

2 leaves of gelatine - soaked in a small amount ot cold water
568 ml carton of double cream
100 g caster sugar
2 vanilla pods split lengthways
3 tablespoons rum

for the compote:
400g / 14 oz young pink rhubarb
50g / 2oz unsalted butter
100g / 4oz caster sugar

Method

Place double cream and sugar in a saucepan together with the split vanilla pods, (it will help if you scrape the tiny seeds from inside the pods to disperse into the cream), and heat slowly to just below boiling point. Remove from the heat and add both the soaked gelatine leaves (without the soaking water) and the rum, stir until dissolved. Allow to cool completely, then pop the bowl into the fridge for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring a couple of times to make sure vanilla seeds are distributed evenly through the cream - they will otherwise tend to sink to the bottom.

Divide into individual moulds and leave to set for at least 4 hours. Unmould by dipping bases in hot water then carefully turning out. Cook rhubarb gently with butter & sugar to tender and serve warm, or cold, beside panacotta.