I don’t know why… but coffee jelly seems to be the craze these days. Fastfoods and restaurants alike have it in their menus. Wendy’s, I think, was the first fastfood to serve coffee jelly. Not too good, the jelly wasn’t soft and chewy. Tough as nails, actually. Oh, okay, that’s an exaggeration. But, really, the jelly was far too tough for dessert. McDonald’s is also serving coffee jelly these days. Haven’t tried it though.
When I had a business (sic) lunch in a Japanese restaurant along T. Morato Avenue in Quezon City last week, I was pleasantly surprised that coffee jelly was on the menu as well and one of my companions heartily recommended it. I enjoyed it so much that I told them I would make my own version soon. And I did. There was even a bonus–I was able to put the Taster’s Choice vanilla roast coffee to good use. I knew it would be good for dessert, lousy as it may be for drinking.
First, let me explain that I chose almond flavored jelly because I knew that, when combined with the vanilla flavored instant coffee, the aroma would be just spectacular.
Second, I used vanilla flavored coffee because I already had some in the house. I bought a small jar of Taster’s Choice vanilla roast coffee a few weeks ago on a trial basis and it turned out tasteless for drinking. Too sweet. Too artificially sweet, in fact.
You don’t have to use almond flavored jelly or vanilla flavored coffee. You can use unflavored jelly and plain coffee. But you might want to add a drop or two of vanilla extract to the jelly to enhance the aroma.
- 1 packet almond jelly powder I used Alsa
- 3 tablespoons vanilla flavored instant coffee
- vanila ice cream
- cinnamon powder
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Prepare the jelly by following the instructions on the box. I won’t pre-empt you with measurements since you might be using another brand or a bigger or smaller box of jelly. However, if the instructions say stir in some milk, skip that part. Just use water to which instant coffee has been added.
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Note that if you’re using unflavored jelly, you will have to add enough sugar to taste.
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When the jelly has been dissolved, pour the liquid into individual cups. Cool until set. For best results, chill the jelly.
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To serve, top the jelly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and sprinkle with cinnamon powder.
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That’s it! You weren’t really expecting something more complicated than that, were you?
