Honey Jelly Cubes with Longan Fruit_龙眼蜜糖燕菜糕

If you like simple recipes and desserts with less sugar, you’ll love this Honey Jelly Cubes with Longan Fruit! Although it is very easy to make, the Honey Jelly Cubes and Longan taste very delicious when eaten together.

Make this a healthier version – You can reduce the sugar amount added into the jelly cubes and also pour less longan syrup. For this recipe I did not use a lot of sugar but if you are sugar conscious, you can still reduce the sugar. Yes the taste will probably be compromised but it will still be a very refreshing dessert.

In this recipe, I used a mixture of agar-agar and konnyaku powder. Both are vegan friendly. I usually use agar-agar but in this recipe I added konnyaku powder to make the jelly more springy and chewy.

Cooking Tips:

• Mix the agar-agar powder, sugar and water well before cooking to prevent the jelly from forming clumps while cooking.
• While cooking, mix often so that the jelly powder does not clumping while cooking
• The texture of this jelly is quite springy and chewy. If you prefer a softer texture, you can reduce the jelly powder.
• In this recipe, I added konnyaku powder to make it more springy and chewy. If you don’t like this texture, you can replace with agar-agar powder. Konnyaku is derived from the Konjac plant.

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.

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.