Soy milk jellies with coffee syrup

The Vietnamese enjoy their coffee strong and sweet, commonly serving it with lashings of condensed milk. Inspired by those flavours, this simple dessert is a wonderful combination of soothing, barely set milky jelly with the jolt of a strong, coffee-based syrup.

Credit: Leanne Kitchen and Antony Suvalko

• serves

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Unusually for an Asian nation, the Vietnamese have a fondness for coffee – a taste they acquired from their French colonisers. (Interestingly, Vietnam supplies the world coffee trade with much of its robusta beans, most of which end up as instant coffee.) The left-over syrup keeps well and tastes delicious spooned over ice-cream.

Ingredients

• 2½ tsp powdered gelatine
• 160 ml (5½ fl oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 330 ml (11 fl oz) soy milk
• 270 g (9½ oz/1½ cups) chopped palm sugar (jaggery)
• 25 g (1 oz/⅓ cup) coarsely ground coffee beans

Chilling time 6 hours

Instructions

Sprinkle the gelatine over 2 tablespoons cold water in a cup or small bowl and stand for 5 minutes or until softened.

Meanwhile, combine the condensed and soy milks in a small saucepan and gently heat over medium–low heat – do not simmer. Stir in the gelatine mixture and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until the gelatine has dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Divide among six 175 ml (6 fl oz) glasses or serving bowls and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight – the jellies will just be lightly set.

Combine the palm sugar and 400 ml (13½ fl oz) water in a small saucepan and slowly bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the coffee and cook for another 2 minutes for the flavours to infuse. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the solids, then refrigerate until cold.

Pour some of the syrup over the jellies and serve with the remaining syrup on the side.

Recipe and image from East: Culinary Adventures in Southeast Asia by Leanne Kitchen and Antony Suvalko (Hardie Grant, $39.95, hbk). View our Readable Feasts review and more recipes from the book here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Unusually for an Asian nation, the Vietnamese have a fondness for coffee – a taste they acquired from their French colonisers. (Interestingly, Vietnam supplies the world coffee trade with much of its robusta beans, most of which end up as instant coffee.) The left-over syrup keeps well and tastes delicious spooned over ice-cream.