Pandan-Coconut Layered Agar Jelly

Pandan leaves are often used in Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian cooking. I particularly love the green colour as well as its refreshing and pleasant fragrance.

Coconut milk (coconut cream) is a perfect partner with pandan in making desserts. Beating the scorching heat in these few days down under here, I made this delicious cold dessert, pandan-coconut layered agar jelly.

Agar (also known as agar agar) is a gelatinous substance, extracted from algae, an edible seaweed. It produces a firmer texture than gelatine and can set very quickly at room temperature.

This jelly is very smooth, not too sweet, with a subtle mix of pandan and coconut fragrance. It’s absolutely refreshing in such a hot weather.

Pandan-Coconut Layered Agar Jelly Recipe (Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 50 mins
Yield: 6 jelly moulds (each 25 ml), and one 18cmx12cmx5cm glass container

Ingredients:

(Pandan Layers)
• 7 pieces pandan leaves, fresh or frozen
• 150 ml ＋ 500 ml water
• 80 gm sugar
• 10 gm agar agar powder
• 2 to 3 drops pandan flavouring paste, optional
(Coconut layers)
• 500 ml coconut cream
• 250 ml milk
• 100 gm sugar
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 15 gm agar agar powder

Method:

1. Rinse the pandan leaves and wipe dry. Cut into small pieces and process with 150 ml of water in a food processor, until really fine. Drain through a sieve lined with a piece of cheese cloth. Squeeze out the juice. Discard the solids. Measure out 100 ml. Set aside. (The remaining pandan juice can be used to make this pandan chiffon cake.)
2. Transfer the 100ml of pandan juice into a pot. Add in 500 ml of water, sugar and agar powder. Stir to combine. Cook over medium heat and bring it to boil, until the sugar is dissolved. (Pandan paste can be added at this stage if desired.) Strain through a sieve into a measuring cup or bowl, sitting in another bowl of hot water to keep warm as it sets very quickly once it cools down.
3. In another pot, put coconut cream, milk, sugar, salt and agar powder. Combine thoroughly. Cook over medium heat until it almost boils and the sugar is completely dissolved. Place the mixture into a measuring cup or a bowl, sitting in another bowl of hot water to keep warm as it sets very quickly once it cools down.
4. Spoon the pandan mixture into the jelly moulds up to half way. Wait until the surface sets. Spoon the coconut mixture to fill up another half. If you want more layers, the method is about the same. I used a rectangular glass container. Spoon 1/3 of the remaining pandan mixture into it. After its surface sets, spoon 1/3 of the remaining coconut mixture on top. Repeat this step to make layers alternatively. 
5. Cover and refrigerate it for about 3 hours. Remove from the moulds. Enjoy!

Notes：

• Before adding a new layer of any mixture, make sure the previous one sets properly. Otherwise both colours will be mixed together due to the stream of mixture pouring in.
• You can make as many layers as you like. The more layers you want to make, the more challenging it will be. It should be well fit into your own moulds or containers.
• By adding the pandan paste, the green colour will be brighter. It’s optional though.