Chai Vanilla Almond Panna Cotta

Boy am I excited to share this recipe with you. I have discovered the beauty of gelatine! Our family mainly follow a paleo and/or eating clean menu plan (made by me! ha!). I believe in eating clean most days of the week, and then if I'm out or spotted a treat I really like, I eat without guilt. It's about fuelling my body the best way ever 80-90% of the time but enjoying treats when I like as well.

Many of my friends, especially close family members asked me- but won't I miss the fantastic food like pastas, hawker delights like chicken rice and fried prawn noodles? The answer to me is... no.

I was surprised myself. I think the reason is because I do not deny myself those food completely. It's about being sensible. Hubby had some chicken rice when we were in Singapore, and I happily tucked into his food (he ate my grilled fish and sambal vegetables too!). Besides, who says rice is a bad food? It's really not that bad. It's just that we tend to overdose ourselves on it.

 Oh how about desserts? Those on my instagram would probably remember that I tucked into some beautiful cakes and desserts in Canele Singapore, Antoinette and even at TWG. Not to mention, I asked a friend to baked us some gorgeous matcha opera cakes.

At home though, hubby and I eat clean pretty much most of the time. That's why I like to bake clean treats at home. Reading a few paleo recipe books, I came across the magic of gelatine powder. One evening, I heated up some almond milk with 2 chai tea bags and vanilla paste. Then I dissolved some gelatine powder with hot water, whisk it through the milk, spoon into glasses and placed it in the fridge.

The result? A lovely light "panna cotta" ready for us to eat when Asher is asleep.  In fact, it's a little like the soy bean curd dessert I used to have back home! Certainly something for me to experiment further for sure.


Chai Vanilla Almond Panna Cotta (serves 4)
2 cups of almond milk
1 tablespoon of honey if using unsweetened almond milk
2 chai tea bags
1 tsp of vanilla paste (you can also use vanilla bean- scrap the seeds but also throw in the pod in the milk to let it infuse further)

1/2 tsp of gelatine powder
2 tablespoon of hot water

Infuse tea bags with milk and vanilla on stove top. Let it simmer for around 5 minutes or so. As it cool slightly, dissolve gelatine powder with hot water. Strain the almond milk mixture.

Whisk gelatine into the almond milk mixture. Spoon mixture into separate glasses or ramekins. Serve with some chia seed pudding or like me- with some raspberries and dark chocolate flakes.