Home > Agar Agar Lapis Santan dan Pandan (Jelly Layered with Coconut Milk and Pandan)

Agar Agar Lapis Santan dan Pandan (Jelly Layered with Coconut Milk and Pandan)

Posting Date: 08/18/19

Agar Agar Lapis Santan dan Pandan (Jelly Layered with Coconut Milk and Pandan) is really good on a hot summer day. In Indonesia, you can find many desserts using agar agar. The one layered with coconut milk and pandan is popular in Indonesia. If you are not familiar with agar agar, it is the vegetarian version of gelatin because it is made of algae. In Japan, it is also called kanten. My Japanese friends told me the health benefits of eating agar agar. Apparently, it is good to eat it when you are on a diet because eating it will fill you up and thus, it makes you eat less. It is also high on fiber.

My mom used to make when I was growing up. I would come home from school and look for it in the fridge to cool me down on a hot day. It was good as a snack or dessert. You can serve it topped with whipped cream and fruit, such as raspberry, blueberry, etc. or just serve it as is. My mom served it as is and I like it as is.

It is so easy to make it, too. No baking is required and it looks pretty, too. Pretty, delicious, and easy to make dessert is a very rare combination! That's why I like to make it.

In addition to this version, my mom sometimes substituted the sugar with palm sugar and omitted pandan flavoring for the supposedly pandan layer. She kept using sugar, instead of palm sugar, on the coconut layer. So, instead of having green and white layers, the colors become brown (from palm sugar) and white (from coconut milk).

If you cannot find pandan flavoring, you can use green food coloring. You can use other color if you prefer. I suggest to add vanilla essence if you use food coloring to add flavor.

I used Golden Coins brand for the agar agar since that's the only one I could find. The liquid amount shown on the recipe is based on that brand. However, it is easy to adjust the liquid amount based on the agar agar brand you can find in the store. Please follow the instructions on the Note section below to adjust the amount.

The recipe serves 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

6 oz agar agar powder from Golden Coins, split into equal amount of 3 oz. My agar agar powder comes in a 6 oz package and the brand is Golden Coins. In the instructions, it states to mix the powder with 6 cups of water. Since we need 2 layers, we need 3 cups of liquid per layer. The coconut layer requires both coconut milk and water. Thus, total amount of liquid per layer is divided into 2 for coconut milk and water each. If you use a different brand of agar agar powder, follow the instructions on the package on the amount of liquid required and the sugar. The amount of liquid per layer will be that number divided by 2.
For pandan layer: 2 oz granulated sugar or to taste. If you use a different agar agar powder brand, follow instructions on the package on the amount of sugar used or you can taste it during cooking and adjust the amount of sugar based on your preference.
For pandan layer: 3 cups water
For pandan layer: 2 to 3 drops pandan flavoring. If you cannot find pandan flavoring, you can use green food coloring or other color of food coloring. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract if you use food coloring so that it has flavor.
For coconut layer: 2 oz granulated sugar or to taste
For coconut layer: 1.5 cups water
For coconut layer: 1.5 cups coconut milk

Methods:

Add 3 oz agar agar powder, sugar, water, and pandan flavoring into a pot. Heat it over medium high heat. Let the liquid come into a boil. Make sure you stir the liquid to make sure the sugar is dissolved. Once the liquid has come into a boil, reduce the heat to low. Taste it and add more sugar if you like it very sweet. Remove from the heat. Pour it into a cake pan. To serve it individually, pour it in a glass but make sure you leave at least half of the space in the glass so that you can put the coconut layer on top. Set it aside on kitchen counter to cool down. It takes about 1-2 hours for the agar agar to set. Do not leave it in the fridge to cool it down. Leaving it too long in the fridge could prevent the boundary layer of pandan and coconut to stick causing each layer to separate once done.
Make sure you proceed to this step only after pandan layer has already set. To know if pandan layer has set, you can press it gently with your finger. It should not be liquid and when you press it, it is firm and gives a little bouncy feel, like pressing jelly. Add 3 oz agar agar powder, sugar, water, and coconut milk into a pot. Heat it over medium high heat. Stir during cooking to dissolve sugar and coconut milk is not separated. Let the liquid come into a boil. As soon as the liquid has come into a boil, reduce the heat to low. Taste it and add more sugar if needed. Remove from the heat. Pour it on top of the pandan layer. If you serve it individually, make sure the height of the coconut layer is the same as the pandan layer so that it will look good. Set it aside to cool down on kitchen counter. It takes 1 to 2 hours to set.
Once it is set, store in the fridge to chill before serving.

Note:

I use agar agar from Golden Coins. It come in a 6 oz package. In Golden Coins instructions, it states to mix the powder with 6 cups of water. Since we need 2 layers using 6 oz of agar agar, we need 3 cups of liquid per layer. The coconut layer requires both coconut milk and water. Thus, total amount of liquid per layer is divided into 2 for coconut milk and water each. If you use a different brand of agar agar powder, follow the instructions on the package on the amount of liquid required and the sugar. The amount of liquid per layer will be that number divided by 2.

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