almond jelly
Seeing it’s Lunar New Year, it seems only right that I put up another oriental recipe – this time something sweet. The Chinese aren’t really known for their puds; from the few that come to mind Almond Jelly is probably one of the more popular – opaque white cubes served with colourful fruit cocktail straight from the can. I’ve chosen to refine it slightly, making it wobblier (as jelly should be) and serving it in dainty ramekins. It makes an ideal dessert after a big Chinese banquet as it is so light and just slides down the throat. I like to serve them with a skewer of lychees on the side and a lychee vodka shot (1 part vodka to 1 part lychee juice or syrup*).
Almond Jelly
makes 8
7 sheets of gelatin (or according to packet instructions)
1 litre (4 cups) water
90g (6 tbsp) caster sugar
175ml (3/4 cup) evaporated milk
1 1/2 tbsp almond essence
Cut up the gelatin sheets into small pieces and soak in 150ml of the water which should be cold. Meanwhile bring the rest of the water to a boil in a saucepan, then tip in gelatin along with the soaking water and simmer for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally (keep an eye on it to ensure it does not boil). Once the gelatin has melted, add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
Remove from heat and pour in the evaporated milk, and give the mixture a couple of quick stirs.
Strain the mixture into a pouring vessel then add the almond essence, again stirring to combine. Taste and add a little more sugar if desired though this dish is not meant to be overly sweet.
Pour into the ramekins and leave to cool for 15-20 minutes then chill in the fridge until set. These can be made a day ahead and kept, covered in clingfilm, in the fridge.
* from a tin of lychees
gourmet traveller 
I’m ashamed to say I have never heard of this dessert before, eep. It’s definitely something I’ll make so thanks for the recipe.
i love this stuff and was looking for a recipe to make it myself. I don’t have gelatin sheets just agar agar, do you know how much i should use.
about 1/4 oz of cut-up agar agar…it will come out a lot firmer though so may be better set in a shallow baking tin then cut into squares.
I like almond jelly!
I certainly prefer it firm and after years of good French patisserie, it still remains one of my personal favourites. The Chinese do not work too hard on their desserts since there is usually much going on before and by the time you come to the end, you just want something sweet and simple to rinse the mouth with.
I am cooking this in my food class. The problem is that I cannot afford to keep the jelly in the fridge for a long time so how can i speed this process up?
Thanks!
You can try putting the jelly mixture in the freezer (about 30 mins) before refrigerating to speed up the cooling process a little.
Thankyou so much! But a small question, rather a silly one :P
So, after it has been in the freezer for 30 minutes, how long do I have to put this in the fridge?
Because I have only 1 hour and 30 minutes to cook, how long do you think this recipe takes?
Also, are you familiar with mango pudding or gula melaka? I have a hard time choosing between these and this almond jelly. By the way, sometimes their recipes would tell me that I have to refridgerate something overnight which I cannot do that because I am cooking in my food class. What do you think?
Thankyou!!
I’m afraid I can’t tell you exactly how long it will take as I’ve always just left it to set overnight in the fridge. With only 90 minutes to cook I would advise you against making any kind of jelly (including mango pudding and gula melaka) as there is no way it will set on time.
Oh dear. Though, thankyou very much for you help :)
This leaves me with no choice :(
I am supposed to find a Singaporean dessert recipe. Most of the desserts require a complex and long recipe, so it’s making hard for me to find one.
Do you perhaps know any good easy ones?
I am really sorry to annoy you by the way…..
I’ve haven’t really attempted any Singaporean desserts at home before (both almond jelly and mango pudding are more HK puds) so may not be the best person to ask. Sorry I couldn’t be more help!