Coffee and cream agar jelly, it’s strong and bitter but the cream smooths this out. This tasty dessert is perfect for spring and summer days

Coffee and cream with agar jelly, it’s simply divine

This coffee jelly with cream dessert is crazy delicious and will never fail you because it’s so simple to make. It can be prepared and made in advance so it’s an easy fuss-free dessert if you are having guests over.

But for something that is a cinch to whip up, it doesn’t skimp on taste or satisfaction, if anything it’s a top-notch fancy dessert.

It’s basically your coffee and cream but served it a new tasty way. The agar jelly has a beautiful intense coffee flavour and the rich cream compliments it so well.

This dessert will go great as a finish to any meal, it’s light and indulgent at the same time.

This recipe is a lifesaver because I’ve used it many times when hosting dinner. I can make this coffee and cream agar jelly in advance knowing they’ll still taste wonderful when it’s time to serve them up!

My love for the not so wobbly jelly

Is it the texture? is it the taste? I’m not sure entirely what it is but I absolutely adore jelly. It doesn’t even matter if it’s made from gelatine or agar-agar it’s still jelly so YUM YUM YUM!

As long as the jelly has the right texture, flavour and sweetness it’s game over for me, I’ll be contently floating in jelly heaven.

I personally prefer my jelly firm and sweet, so what that means is I tend to use less water and more agar agar or gelatine. So I never follow the Aeroplane jelly box instructions as the jelly is way too soft and wobbly for my liking!

Agar agar jelly vs Gelatine

Agar-Agar or Ajarr-Ajarr as my husband incorrectly pronounces it is a plant-based powder made from red algae, a type of seaweed. So unlike gelatine, which is made from animal parts, Agar-Agar it is vegan friendly.

Agar-Agar must be well mixed with cold water before boiling. The agar powder will clump up if mixed into boiling water.

They both set liquids into jelly when cooled but the texture and taste are completely different.

Agar adds a slight pleasant taste to the jelly but with gelatine, it’s tasteless when mixed with other flavours. I found that using powdered gelatine in large amounts produced an offputting smell but once set it’s doesn’t impact the flavours.

The best way I can differentiate between the two textures is agar-agar jelly will crumble and break into your mouth when biting into it, whereas your teeth will sink into jelly made from gelatine.

Converting Tomasi,’the Grumpy Jelly Grinch’

My husband Tomasi is on the opposite side and BOO to him! He hates jelly, to him, it’s a nonsense food. He likened eating jelly to munching on solid water with artificial flavouring! UM, WHAT THE?

BUT ‘the Grumpy Jelly Grinch’ was no match against this sweet coffee jelly with cream dessert.

When I first made this dessert Tomasi eyed the glass and I could tell he was disturbed by the beautiful black glistening jelly. I told him it was jelly but before he could say anything else I interrupted him and said COFFEE JELLY!. It’s because as much as Tomasi hated jelly he loved coffee more. Hahaha, so I purposely put him in a hard place!

I watched in anticipation as he ate the whole glass in silence. When he finished he grudgingly said ‘Surprisingly, I enjoyed that, the coffee and cream made forget about the jelly.

So it seems this dessert has left Tomasi confused and questioning his relationship with jellies.

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Ingredients for Coffee and cream agar jelly

Agar-agar powder – Over here we can buy agar-agar powder at Asian groceries and at some health stores. If possible stick to the Asian stores as it’s much cheaper to buy. I used the ‘Golden Trophy’ brand imported from Thailand as it’s good quality.

Thickened cream – Is cream with gelatine added to it, it has 35% milk fat and is often used for whipping.

To make this dessert vegan substitute the cream with full-fat canned coconut cream. Try to get your hands on a good quality brand for more rich coconut cream with less water.

Place an unopened can in the fridge overnight, when ready to use open the can and scoop the solid parts out only and transfer to a mixing bowl with the sugar and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, whip up the cream until light and fluffy.

Instant coffee – For a strong bitter coffee taste I used a good quality store-bought instant coffee.

How to make Coffee and Cream Agar Jelly

Step-by-step guide with photos

For the jelly mould, use any small or medium square or rectangle-shaped tin/tray/container as long as it is heatproof and it can hold all the liquid jelly mixture. 

FOR THE JELLY:

1. In a medium-size pot add in the water, agar powder and whisk well. Place the pot on high heat and bring the mixture to a boil.

2 & 3. Add sugar and coffee into the mixture and continue to boil for a further minute, stir occasionally.

4. Pour the hot mixture into a mould and leave to cool at room temperature until there is no more steam coming out of the mixture. Cling wrap the mixture and carefully transfer it into a fridge for 2 hours or until set.

FOR THE THICKENED CREAM OR COCONUT CREAM:

Once the jelly is set prepare the cream. In a large bowl add cream, icing sugar and vanilla. Using an electric beater whip the cream until soft to medium peaks are formed.

Coconut cream – Place an unopened can in the fridge overnight, when ready to use open the can and scoop the solid parts out only and transfer to a mixing bowl with the sugar and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, whip up the cream until light and fluffy.

CUT AND LAYER THE JELLY AND CREAM:

Cut the jelly into bitesize cubes, in a serving glass add a layer of jelly cubes followed by a layer of cream, repeat once more and garnish with a mint leaf.

Tips and notes

To prepare this dessert in advance layer the jelly and cream in a glass and cling wrap it and place it in the fridge. Serve the dessert within 2 hours of doing this as the jelly may expel out a little bit of liquid.

The jelly itself will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in a sealed container, but the texture may change and get a little watery.

Adjust this recipe to your personal taste – I like my jelly firm in texture but if you prefer softer jelly use less agar-agar powder. You can also adjust the level of sweetness by adding less or more sugar in the jelly mixture and in the cream, or if preferred, skip the sugar altogether.

Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.

A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.

I would love to hear your thoughts or feedback on this post. If you have made this recipe, please show your support by commenting and rate this recipe. You can do this by scrolling down or by clicking the green circle on the left. To prevent spam on this site, your email address is required but it will not be published.

Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre