Flan Coffee Jelly
May 7, 2017
So, I'm going to start out slowly but surely immersing myself back into the dessert world that I was born and raised with: Vietnamese Sweets! Living in a tropical place, the Vietnamese are constantly trying to create exotic and soothing desserts to stay cool in 360 days of the year. Growing up, I would find any excuses to use my allowance to get some cold sweet soups, puddings or jelly cakes to ease that throbbing afternoon sun rays, or at least, to make the heat more manageable. Vietnamese coconut and coffee layered jelly was what I grew up with, and I knew nothing better until I was introduced to the American culture of cupcakes, donuts, cheesecakes and brownies. Although I have learned to more selective with my sweets intake and my tongue has acquired anew expectations (its standard has heightened), I still find some comfort in eating these Vietnamese popular jelly desserts. Well, at least most of the time.
I can't express how excited I am when making and trying this Flan Coffee Jelly dessert for the first time. Supposedly, this is one of the hot trending desserts in Saigon right now. Unfortunately, it did not have a source so I cannot link the credit back to the original creator. I think its popularity is gained mostly from richness of the flan that is hidden inside a refreshing jelly to cool one down on a hot summer day. What an amazing idea by pairing two popular desserts together! After I finished baking this recipe, my mind was going through numerous possibilities of combining many other desserts together.
Oh boy, the list is endless! And it makes me even more motivated to start my next post...while trying not to be overly excited and spill the beans now...
I can't express how excited I am when making and trying this Flan Coffee Jelly dessert for the first time. Supposedly, this is one of the hot trending desserts in Saigon right now. Unfortunately, it did not have a source so I cannot link the credit back to the original creator. I think its popularity is gained mostly from richness of the flan that is hidden inside a refreshing jelly to cool one down on a hot summer day. What an amazing idea by pairing two popular desserts together! After I finished baking this recipe, my mind was going through numerous possibilities of combining many other desserts together.
Oh boy, the list is endless! And it makes me even more motivated to start my next post...while trying not to be overly excited and spill the beans now...
PREPARING AND BAKING FLAN
I make the flan first to allow the dessert to cool and firm up. I start by whisking half and half milk with vanilla bean ice cream for about 30 seconds. Then, I add this milk mixture to the beaten eggs, follow by vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. I continue to whisk the mixture until well-combined. The salt here is optional, but it does bring out the sweetness of the flavor more. I didn't feel the need to run the batter through the sieve here, but you can if you like a smooth and silky flan. I thought mine turned out relatively well at the end so if you don't have the time, you really don't need to perform this step.
Once I am happy with the flan batter, I pour it into a silicone baking pan with the shape of flowers. I pick this baking pan because each individual flower happens to fit into the container that I'd be using for my jelly mixture. This step is important for the presentation of this dessert and I will elaborate more on this in the assembling part below.
I bake the flan for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees F in a water bath. Once the flan is done, I remove the pan from the oven and let it cool on the counter for about 15 minutes before I storing it in the refrigerator.
I make the flan first to allow the dessert to cool and firm up. I start by whisking half and half milk with vanilla bean ice cream for about 30 seconds. Then, I add this milk mixture to the beaten eggs, follow by vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. I continue to whisk the mixture until well-combined. The salt here is optional, but it does bring out the sweetness of the flavor more. I didn't feel the need to run the batter through the sieve here, but you can if you like a smooth and silky flan. I thought mine turned out relatively well at the end so if you don't have the time, you really don't need to perform this step.
Once I am happy with the flan batter, I pour it into a silicone baking pan with the shape of flowers. I pick this baking pan because each individual flower happens to fit into the container that I'd be using for my jelly mixture. This step is important for the presentation of this dessert and I will elaborate more on this in the assembling part below.
I bake the flan for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees F in a water bath. Once the flan is done, I remove the pan from the oven and let it cool on the counter for about 15 minutes before I storing it in the refrigerator.
PREPARING AND MAKING COFFEE JELLY
Here, I use agar agar to create my coffee jelly. In a clean saucepan, I whisk together water and agar powder over low-heat for about 5 minutes or until boiling. Make sure the mixture has boiled for at least 30-45 seconds as agar needs to be bought to the boiling point for it to work. Noted that agar sets much more easily and quickly than gelatin, but it is important that you prepare it properly.
Once it reaches this stage, I quickly add sugar, coffee powder and coffee extract and stir the mixture constantly until combined. I remove the coffee mixture from the stove and add half and half milk or coconut milk and set it aside to cool.
Some facts about this:
Agar is a jelly-like substance derived from algea, which is released on boiling temperature that works similarly to gelatin but yielding a more firm jelly. Agar is the common ingredients used in desserts throughout Asia. In the Vietnamese cuisine, these popular jelly desserts are made of flavored layered of agar agar called "Rau Câu" or "Thạch."
Here, I use agar agar to create my coffee jelly. In a clean saucepan, I whisk together water and agar powder over low-heat for about 5 minutes or until boiling. Make sure the mixture has boiled for at least 30-45 seconds as agar needs to be bought to the boiling point for it to work. Noted that agar sets much more easily and quickly than gelatin, but it is important that you prepare it properly.
Once it reaches this stage, I quickly add sugar, coffee powder and coffee extract and stir the mixture constantly until combined. I remove the coffee mixture from the stove and add half and half milk or coconut milk and set it aside to cool.
Some facts about this:
Agar is a jelly-like substance derived from algea, which is released on boiling temperature that works similarly to gelatin but yielding a more firm jelly. Agar is the common ingredients used in desserts throughout Asia. In the Vietnamese cuisine, these popular jelly desserts are made of flavored layered of agar agar called "Rau Câu" or "Thạch."
ASSEMBLE FLAN COFFEE JELLY DESSERT
This step requires you to be quick to prevent the coffee jelly from harden. Here, it is essential to prepare for containers to hold the complete dessert in (flan and coffee jelly) ahead of time. I use the mini round plastic containers that I got from the Dollar Tree earlier that day. These containers, which comes in a set of 12, are just slightly bigger than the flan flower mold, which is perfect for this dessert.
First, I remove the flan "flowers" that I made earlier from the refrigerator and start to remove them from the silicone pan. I place all of them in a clean plate. Next, I pour about 1 tablespoon of coffee jelly into the mini round container and then place the flan flower in the middle of each container. I repeat this step for the entire batch of 12 containers while waiting for the coffee jelly to firm up. Then, I complete the dessert by pouring the rest of coffee jelly over the flan flower just enough to cover it. I repeat the same method for the rest of the mini round containers.
I let the flan coffee jelly desserts set in the refrigerator for about 3 hours to firm up and hold their shapes. To serve, take the dessert out of the refrigerator and remove the jelly from the mini round containers by running a knife around it. Place the dessert on to a small plate and serve it plain, or with shaved ice and fruits.
This step requires you to be quick to prevent the coffee jelly from harden. Here, it is essential to prepare for containers to hold the complete dessert in (flan and coffee jelly) ahead of time. I use the mini round plastic containers that I got from the Dollar Tree earlier that day. These containers, which comes in a set of 12, are just slightly bigger than the flan flower mold, which is perfect for this dessert.
First, I remove the flan "flowers" that I made earlier from the refrigerator and start to remove them from the silicone pan. I place all of them in a clean plate. Next, I pour about 1 tablespoon of coffee jelly into the mini round container and then place the flan flower in the middle of each container. I repeat this step for the entire batch of 12 containers while waiting for the coffee jelly to firm up. Then, I complete the dessert by pouring the rest of coffee jelly over the flan flower just enough to cover it. I repeat the same method for the rest of the mini round containers.
I let the flan coffee jelly desserts set in the refrigerator for about 3 hours to firm up and hold their shapes. To serve, take the dessert out of the refrigerator and remove the jelly from the mini round containers by running a knife around it. Place the dessert on to a small plate and serve it plain, or with shaved ice and fruits.
Tips to make this dessert successful:
- To see if the jelly is completely cooked: dip a chop stick (or wood skewer) into the batter and remove it quickly. It is ready if the jelly doesn't stick on the chopstick.
- To prevent the jelly from firming up while waiting for the flan to harden, you can keep the jelly mixture warm by placing it over the stove on low heat.
- It is best to make sure the flan baking mold fits into the coffee jelly container.
My children love this dessert so much that they did not mind the taste of coffee. This is a delicious, rich dessert to be served over a summer day to chase the heat away. I did not try to serve them with shaved ice or fruits, but I am sure it would taste as amazing. If you have tried it, leave a comment to let me know how you'd like it.
xoxo,
Tristina
xoxo,
Tristina
Coffee Flan Jelly Recipe
Make: 12 three-inch jelly
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
Flan
Coffee Jelly
Instructions
Flan
Coffee Jelly
Assemble Flan Coffee Jelly Dessert
*This recipe is adapted from an unknown source
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
Flan
- 2 medium eggs
- 100 ml of whole milk/half and half milk
- 2 tablespoons of vanilla bean ice-cream
- 40 grams of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
Coffee Jelly
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of agar powder
- 85 grams of granulated sugar
- 240-250 ml of water
- 2-3 tablespoons of instant coffee powder
- 2 tablespoons of coconut milk/half and half milk
- 1 teaspoon of coffee extract
Instructions
Flan
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare any baking pan of your choice with cooking spray and then put it over the water bath.
- In a clean mixing bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla extract and salt until well combined. Add ice-cream to give the flan a rich taste, if desired. Sift mixture to achieve a silky and smooth dessert.
- Pour the flan batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool before storing in the refrigerator to harden.
Coffee Jelly
- In a clean sauce pan, mix together water and agar powder over low heat for about 3-5 minutes, or until the boiling for about 30-45 seconds.
- Add sugar, instant coffee powder, half and half milk (or coconut milk) and coffee extract and stir constantly until complete dissolved.
- Remove from stove and set coffee jelly mixture aside to cool.
Assemble Flan Coffee Jelly Dessert
- Remove flan from the refrigerator and then remove each individual flan from the baking pan carefully avoid breaking. Place all the flan on a clean plate.
- Pour about 1 tablespoon of coffee jelly mixture into any desirable molds/containers. Note, this should be slightly bigger than the flan so the jelly could cover the entire flan.
- Place the flan in the middle of the jelly container. Pour coffee jelly mixture over to cover the entire flan. Repeat this step for all of the containers/molds.
- Store in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
- Remove flan coffee jelly from the molds/containers and serve plain, with fresh fruits or shaved ice as desired.
*This recipe is adapted from an unknown source
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