Fragrant, floral jellies for Mid-Autumn festive table

I had the pleasure of making mooncakes for this column a few years ago, and what an experience it was!

As a first-timer, it was quite an adventure, from discovering unfamiliar ingredients to learning new techniques.

I learnt that making traditional mooncakes at home can be ex­­pen­­sive, labour intensive and an extreme test of skill.

It is therefore becoming increasingly common for home cooks to make jelly mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival instead of traditional baked or even snow-skin varieties.

You can still embrace tradition by flavouring your jelly mooncakes with osmanthus flower tea – this classic flavour has long been associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Osmanthus is a flowering plant native to Asia, including China, Japan and South-East Asia.

Sweet osmanthus and its tea are particularly associated with Guilin, which translates as “Forest of Sweet Osmanthus”.

Osmanthus jelly can be made with ‘konnyaku’ powder, or mixed with ‘agar-agar’ to create a firmer jelly with a slight bounce.

Osmanthus flowers are harvested in spring, dried over summer and ready to be enjoyed in autumn.

It is often used to flavour syrups for almond tofu and tang yuan, as well as infused in wine to be served alongside mooncakes during the festival.

Osmanthus jelly is another traditional dessert, often served at weddings and other festive occasions, where it is usually made with either agar-agar or rice flour.

For this recipe, we have opted for konnyaku powder.

However, if you do not like the wobbly texture of konnyaku jelly, you can substitute it with agar-agar or gelatin powder.

Alternatively, you can adjust the consistency by mixing 7g of konnyaku powder with 3g of agar-agar to create a firmer jelly with a slight bounce.

Whichever option you choose, keep the jellies chilled until just before serving.

Strain the osmanthus tea into a saucepan, add sugar and boil until sugar is dissolved.

They can soften or melt in Malaysia’s hot weather, especially if you are enjoying them under the full moon on Mid-Autumn night.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Osmanthus jelly mooncake

Ingredients

5g dried osmanthus petals

40g wolfberries

10g konnyaku powder

670ml boiling water

70g rock sugar

1 560g-can longan

Stir in ‘konnyaku’-syrup mix and bring to a boil to activate the jelly.

Directions

Drain the longan, reserving the syrup. The can should yield approximately 230g of fruit and 330ml of syrup. Dissolve the konnyaku powder in the reserved syrup.

Rinse the osmanthus petals in cold water, removing any twigs or debris.

Steep the flowers in the boiling water for 10 minutes, then strain the tea into a saucepan.

Add the rock sugar and simmer until dissolved. Stir in the konnyaku-syrup mixture, then bring to a boil.

Turn off the heat and return 2 teaspoons of the osmanthus petals to the saucepan. Set aside to cool until lukewarm.

Fill each mould cavity with a piece of longan, three pieces of wolfberries, and topped with the lukewarm osmanthus jelly mixture.

Soak the wolfberries in hot water for 10 minutes, until rehydrated.

Place one piece of longan and three wolfberries into each cavity of a mini mooncake mould.

Pour the lukewarm jelly mixture over the fruit.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until fully set. Serve chilled. Makes 32 mini mooncake jellies.