isithalal.food · Recipes

Halal panna cotta

Vanilla panna cotta set with Halal-certified beef or fish gelatine and a vanilla pod instead of alcohol-based extract, with why agar is a different recipe.

Italian · Dessert · Easy · 4 small moulds (about 110 ml each) · 510 min

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

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Why Halal checks matter here

Panna cotta is cream set with gelatine, and gelatine of unnamed source is often pork; vanilla extract is also mostly alcohol.

Halal-critical ingredients

• Gelatine: Gelatine with no named source is often pork, and pork gelatine is Haram. Use beef or fish gelatine with a Halal mark. See Gelatin, Beef gelatin and Fish gelatin.
• Vanilla: Most vanilla extracts are made with alcohol. Use a vanilla pod or an alcohol-free vanilla paste. See Vanilla extract.

Ingredients

Gelatine

• 3 g (about 1½ leaves) Halal-certified beef or fish gelatine leaves (not unnamed gelatine)
• 100 ml (scant ½ cup) cold water, for soaking

Cream

• 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) double cream
• 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) whole milk
• 1 (1 pod) vanilla pod, split lengthways (not alcohol-based extract)
• 75 g (⅓ cup) golden caster sugar

To serve

• 150 g (1 cup) fresh berries

Method

1. Soak the gelatine. Soak the Halal-certified gelatine leaves in a small bowl of cold water until soft. Pork gelatine and gelatine with no named source are not acceptable here; beef or fish gelatine carrying a Halal mark is. If you use powder, follow the pack's ratio for 3 g of leaf, because strengths differ.
2. Infuse the cream. Heat the cream, milk and split vanilla pod until just boiling, then take the pan off the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. The pod gives the flavour without the alcohol in most vanilla extracts.
3. Sweeten and dissolve. Rewarm gently if needed, then stir in the sugar until dissolved. Squeeze the water from the gelatine leaves and stir them into the warm cream until melted. Do not boil once the gelatine is in. Strain through a sieve into a jug to remove the pod.
4. Set overnight. Pour into four 110 ml ramekins or dariole moulds, cover and chill overnight until set.
5. Turn out and serve. Dip each mould briefly in boiling water, run a knife round the inside edge and turn out onto a plate. Serve with fresh berries.
6. Why not agar, gram for gram. Agar is a plant gel and Halal, but it has to be boiled to set and gives a firmer, less wobbly gel than gelatine. An agar panna cotta needs its own quantities and method; it is not this recipe with the gelatine crossed out. See Agar-agar.

Allergens

milk

How this recipe was researched

Method specified editorially from published panna cotta technique (gelatine soaked in cold water, cream and milk infused with vanilla and sweetened, set overnight), with Halal-certified gelatine and a vanilla pod, plus this site's Gelatin, Beef gelatin, Fish gelatin, Agar-agar and Vanilla extract pages. Timings follow published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Photograph from our ingredient library, not the finished dish.