Sweets and drinksChilled DessertsVietnam30 minutes cooking, plus setting time
This gives a tray of pale orange jelly, crisp and cool, flecked with basil seeds. The pumpkin is steamed, blended and strained, so the sweetness is natural and gently fragrant. The hardest part is the agar powder, which clumps the moment it touches hot water.
Mixing the agar powder dry with the sweetener before it goes into the pot lets it dissolve evenly. The pumpkin mixture has to be strained to remove the fibers, since fibers left in make the jelly grainy.
This batch weighs about 1.8kg, at roughly 11 calories per 100g.
Method
Peel 400g pumpkin, rinse it, cut it into cubes and steam it until soft, then transfer it to a large bowl and mash it smooth.
Rinse 20g basil seeds and soak them in water to swell. Soak 5 gelatin leaves in cold water until soft. Mix 72g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend with 10g agar powder.
Whisk the mashed pumpkin with 1.3 liters water, then strain it to remove the fibers.
Set the pumpkin mixture over the heat, add the sweetener and agar mixture, and bring it to a boil.
Stir in the basil seeds, then lift out the softened gelatin leaves, drop them into the pot and stir until dissolved.
Pour the mixture into a mold or plastic tray and leave it to cool and set.
Turn the jelly out, cut it into small pieces and arrange them on a plate.
Tips
Mixing the sweetener with the agar powder before it goes into the pot lets it dissolve evenly with no clumps.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves more slowly, so stir for another minute after the pot boils. The spoon should feel completely smooth.
Strain the pumpkin mixture thoroughly, since any fibers left behind make the jelly grainy and cloudy.
Add the basil seeds right before the heat goes off, as long cooking bursts them and turns the jelly slimy.
Let the tray cool at room temperature before it goes into the fridge, since chilling it straight away pits the surface.
Squeeze the gelatin leaves dry before they go into the pot, as the extra water leaves the jelly soft and floppy.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.