These Fruit Jelly Mooncakes are adapted from the traditional mooncakes, which are traditionally enjoyed during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Classic mooncake is baked with pastry skin and filled with lotus paste or red bean paste. Making these classic pastry type mooncakes can be quite time consuming. So in recent years, jelly mooncake has become a popular trend.
Easiest Jelly Mooncake to make, yet I find this Fruit Jelly Mooncake the most refreshing and delicious jelly mooncake! You can add any fruits you like. I find the combination of kiwi, mango, dragon fruit, blueberry and basil seeds go very well with the sweet clear jelly.
Kids will love them. These Fruit Jelly Mooncakes look very pretty and colourful and the texture is tender and springy.

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THESE FRUIT JELLY DUMPLINGS
Tender and Springy Texture and Pretty Shiny, Translucent Colour
These Fruit Jelly Mooncakes look very pretty and colourful. The jelly texture is tender and springy.
Less Time Consuming than Traditional Mooncakes
Making Traditional mooncakes is more cumbersome. These Fruit Jelly Mooncakes takes less than an hour.

EXPLANATION OF KEY INGREDIENTS IN JELLY MOONCAKES
Jelly Powder
For this recipe. I mixed Agar-agar and Jelly Powder to get a springy texture. Agar-agar texture is more stiff. So adding jelly powder will make the jelly more springy and chewy. Also the liquid will be clearer. Moreover, the jelly will be more resilient and less likely to break easily.
The Instant Jelly Powder is made of Carageenan, Konjac Gum and Sodium Citrate (information provided by Bake With Yen staff). Konjac Gum is derived from Konjac plant. As for Carageenan, according to wikipedia “Carrageenans or carrageenins are a family of natural linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweeds. Carrageenans are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties.”

Agar-agar
Agar-agar is extracted from seaweed. It is plant based, hence, it is used by vegetarians or vegans as a substitute for gelatin. Agar-agar is widely available in Asia.

IMPORTANT COOKING TIPS
Mix the jelly powder, agar-agar powder and caster sugar well
Mix well so that the jelly powder don’t clump up while cooking
Remove air bubbles from the liquid
After boiling the jelly liquid, remove air bubbles to get a clear jelly
Don’t put too much fruits into the mould
If you put too many fruits in the mould, there won’t be enough liquid to keep the jelly intact. When you take the jelly out of the mould, the fruits may come off.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is Agar-agar?
Agar-agar is extracted from seaweed and is plant-based. It works like gelatin and is often used to make jelly, especially in Asia. Being plant based, it has become very popular amongst vegetarians or vegans as a substitute for gelatin. It is odorless and does not contribute much taste to the jelly, perhaps just a slight hint of fragrance.
Agar-agar comes in powder form or strips. You can substitute agar-agar powder with agar-agar strips if preferred.
My jelly texture is too soft/firm, can I change the texture?
Yes, you can. The texture of the jelly is based on the ratio of water/liquid to agar-agar powder. So if you prefer softer texture, reduce the jelly powder or vice versa.
Why does my jelly not set?
Not enough agar-agar powder used. Different brand of jelly powder have different liquid to agar-agar powder ratio. Generally the ratio is 1g powder = 100ml liquid but may differ from brand to brand.
Agar-agar starts to activate its gelling properties when the liquid is heated above 80-90°C. So it is necessary to make sure the liquid is cooked until it is boiling. Then leave to cool to room temperature. It will start to solidify below 40°C.
What is the texture of agar-agar?
Agar-agar texture is more stiff compared to gelatin. Hence it is not so jiggly and springy.
HOW TO STORE FRUIT JELLY MOONCAKES?
Unmould just before serving as they tend to release water after unmoulding. They can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days. They are enjoyed cold.

Troubleshooting – My jelly did not set, what can I do about it?
Step 1 – If it is your first time trying the recipe there is a test you can do. Before pouring into the mold, just scoop up a small portion of the liquid into a small saucer. Place it into the fridge to set. It should take about less than 5 minutes. Check the texture of the jelly. If you are happy with it, the proceed to pour into the mold. If it did not set, add more jelly powder (before adding the powder, dilute it in some room temperature water first), pour into the existing jelly liquid and heat up the liquid again. Redo the test and once you are happy with the texture, pour into the mould
Vice versa, if you find the texture of the jelly is too stiff/hard, add more water into the existing jelly liquid and heat up the liquid again. Redo the test and once you are happy with the texture, pour into the mould
Step 2 – If you have already poured into the mold and eventually find out that it did not set. Don’t throw it away! You can always fix it. Just simply place the liquid into a pot, add jelly powder, mix well and reheat again. Then repeat the above step 1 to test the jelly.

Fruit Jelly Mooncake
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 6 grams agar-agar 6克燕菜粉
- 12 grams instant jelly powder (If you don’t have jelly powder, you can replace with 4 grams agar-agar powder) 12克 果冻粉(没有果冻粉可以用4克燕菜粉代替)
- 160-200 grams caster sugar 160-200克 细砂糖
- 1000 ml water, room temperature 1000 毫升水, 室温
- 3 pandan leaves (optional) 3片香兰叶(可选)
Jelly filling 果冻馅:
- 4 grams basil seeds 4克罗勒种子
- 1 small mango 1个小芒果
- 1 kiwi 1个猕猴桃
- Quarter dragon fruit 四分之一火龙果
- 24 blueberry 45 grams 24粒蓝莓45克
Kitchen tools 厨房用具:
- Medium Size Mooncake Jelly Mold 中号燕菜月饼模具(6连) Each Column diameter (直径) 5.5cm Height (高度) 3cm https://shope.ee/ArXve3Fyq
Instructions
- Oil the jelly mould and set aside.
- First let’s prepare the fruits and basil seeds: Soak basil seeds for 15 minutes, then strain and set aside. Choose your favourite fruits. Cut into small cubes.
- Place the fruits and basil seeds into the mould. Prepare 12 portions and set aside. Don’t put too much fruits, otherwise the jelly will not hold together well.
- Prepare the jelly liquid. Mix caster sugar, agar-agar powder and instant jelly powder. Mix well so that the jelly powder does not clump up while cooking.
- In a pot, add water (room temperature). Then add the mixed jelly powder. Mix well. Add pandan leaves (optional). Cook on low heat until it boils, stir often. Remove pandan leaves. Remove any bubbles to get a clear jelly. Sieve the liquid.
- Place the jelly liquid into the mould. Mix the fruits gently with a fork or chopstick to spread it out evenly so that the jelly will hold well together. Remove any air bubbles.
- Let it set at room temperature. Then place in the fridge to chill for 2 hours. Remove from mould and serve cold. Gently press the sides and the top of the mould to unmould