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Pink Heart Agar Agar Jelly - Perfect for Valentine's Day!

If Pretty in Pink could be a dessert, these beauties would be it. These heart-shaped vegan agar agar jellies are layered with coconut, pink pitaya, and strawberry flavors and topped with a dollop of strawberry chia seed jam. They are as yummy as they are pretty and would be a perfect gift for Galentine's or Valentine's Day!

Are you celebrating Galentines, Valentines, or self love this year? ^^ Whichever you're in the mood for, these pretty pink heart-shaped treats will sure bring a smile to anyone you love, yourself included of course! They're creamy, refreshing, have a nice little crunch to the bite, perfectly fruity and sweet but refined sugar free! I sweetened them with fruit and monk fruit extract.

The most important ingredient for vegan jelly is of course agar agar, aka what magic is made of. My favorite thing about agar agar jelly is how stable they are. They will NOT melt at room temperature! And that makes it so much easier to make them ahead of time and then serve whenever you want to without worrying they would melt into a pile of colored liquid - a problem you'd have to contend with if using gelatine, which is made from boiling cow or pig skin, bone, ligament, etc, yuck. 

If this is your first time trying agar agar, here are a few tips you might wanna go over before you start:

1. Agar agar needs to be brought to a full boil for it to completely dissolve. I strongly recommend always dissolving the agar agar powder in clear water first before you add any colored ingredients, milk, juicy, fruit puree etc just so you can see clearly;

2.Agar jelly sets at room temperature and it sets fast. Unlike gelatin which takes hours to set in the fridge, agar agar jelly starts to solidify even at room temperature. Once it's cooled you can of course transfer it to the fridge to further set, and depending on the size of the mold, it usually only needs about 30 minutes in the fridge;



3. If you're trying to create layers like this one, make sure to let each layer solidify before pouring in the next layer, however, do not let it completely set either! Otherwise, the layers wouldn't fuse completely together. Also, don't pour the liquid directly onto the previous layer, the pressure might result in holes or cracks, always pour the liquid onto the back of a spoon first and let it drizzle on.



Watch the video below to follow the simple steps and come find me on Instagram and Tiktok if you try this recipe! I would looove to see them ^^


INGREDIENTS:

*please note, the amount of jelly liquid you'll need will of course depend on the size of your mold, so feel free to adjust the amount but just follow one rule of thumb, add 1 teaspoon of agar agar powder per 1 1/3 cup of liquid

For the white and pink layers -

1 cup water

1 cup full fat coconut milk from a can

1 1/2 teaspoon agar agar powder

1 tablespoon monk fruit extract or more to taste

1 teaspoon pink pitaya powder


For the red layer -

1/3 cup water

1 cup strawberry puree

1 teaspoon agar agar powder

2 teaspoon monk fruit extract or to taste


For the strawberry chia seed jam -

1 cup chopped strawberry

1 tablespoon monk fruit extract

1 tablespoon chia seed

A squeeze of lemon, optional


TO MAKE:

- First we make the white and pink layers. In a pot, off heat, add in the water and agar agar powder, whisk to mix very well;

- Transfer onto the stove, cook over medium heat and continue to stir and whisk frequently, bring to a gentle boil, check the liquid closely to make sure all the powder is dissolved;

- Pour in the coconut milk, mix well, and bring to a gentle boil again, add in the monk fruit extract and stir to dissolve;

- Take HALF of the coconut agar agar mixture, pour into your mold of choice, let the first layer set at room temperature;

- In the other half of the coconut agar mixture, sift in the pink pitaya powder, stir to mix in, keep the mixture warm until the first layer is set;

- When the first layer is firm to touch but NOT completely cooled down yet, you want it to still be ever so slightly warm so the next layer will fuse on firmly and won't separate when they're set;

- Pour the pink mixture into the mold over the back of a spoon so it doesn't accidentally break the first layer, set the mold aisde;

- Clean the pot or use another one, combine the water and agar agar powder for the red layer, repeat the same process, whisk to dissolve, and bring to a gentle boil;

- Pour in the strawberry puree and stir to mix well;

- When the second layer is also firm to touch but still slightly warm, pour in the final red layer, I like to pour this mixture over a fine mesh sift because of the strawberry puree in it, sifting it will result in a smoother jelly, you also just pour it in without the sift;

- Let the mixture cool down then transfer to the fridge to set, it will only need half an hour or so but there's no harm in keeping it in there for longer;

- Meanwhile, make the jam by adding the chopped strawberry and monk fruit to a pan, cook until the fruits are all soft and starting to fall apart, crush them with a spoon or potato masher;

- Bring to a boil, then add the chia seeds, stir to mix in very well don't let the chia seeds clump all together at one spot, simmer for 15 minutes to reduce the liquid and thicken the jam;

- Let the jam completely cool down before you add it to the jelly;

- When you're ready to serve, carefully take the jelly out of the mold, if you're not using individual molds, you can take it out of the bigger mold you have and slice them into preferred shapes, top with the jam, enjoy!


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