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These Lychee Jelly Mooncakes are sweet, light, jiggly, and refreshing. The jelly is infused with lychee syrup and naturally gets its vibrant pink color from dragon fruit. A great vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free dessert for the whole family to enjoy.

If you are not a fan of classic mooncakes and want to make something easy and light for the Mid-Autumn Festival, look no further than these simple Lychee Jelly Mooncakes. With just five ingredients (water is excluded), you can create tasty and beautiful jelly mooncakes that will impress your family and friends. This recipe is also vegan and gluten-free friendly!

These jelly mooncakes have 2 layers. The top layer is a clear jelly infused with lychee syrup and studded with juicy and sweet lychees. The bottom layer is made from the same clear jelly mixture but naturally pink colored with red dragon fruit. The jelly texture is soft and jiggly. They are so fun to eat.

If you love these Lychee Jelly Mooncakes, I think you will also love my Osmanthus Longan Jelly Mooncakes and Coconut Water Fruit Jelly Mooncakes recipes. Try making them and let me know what you think about these jelly mooncakes.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

Easy and quick to make. This dessert is very easy and quick to make.
Beautiful jelly. This recipe makes a beautiful jelly fruit cake with a natural vibrant pink color.
Light and refreshing. The jelly is perfect for those who want something light and not heavy.
Healthier mooncakes. They are dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan. Compared to traditional mooncakes, these jelly mooncakes are so much healthier.

Ingredients You Need

Canned lychee. You will need both the lychees and the lychee syrup.
Agar powder. Agar or agar-agar, a jelly-like substance derived from seaweed. Agar-agar sets into a firm, dense, and slightly brittle or crunchy structure.
Jelly powder. The setting agent for the jelly. It makes the jelly elastic, springy, and bouncy. Agar helps the dessert hold its shape firmly at room temperature without melting easily. The jelly powder adds a pleasant, mouth-friendly chew.
Rock sugar. To sweeten the jelly. You can substitute it with granulated sugar.
Red dragon fruit. To color the jelly. You can substitute it with other food colorings like dried roselles for red color and dried blue butterfly pea flowers for blue color.

How to Make Lychee Jelly Mooncakes

Strain the lychees from the can. Reserve the lychee syrup.
Break each lychee into 2 or 3 parts with your hands and place them into the molds.
Make the clear jelly mixture. In a saucepan, mix agar powder, jelly powder, lychee syrup, and water. Cook over medium heat until the mixture boils. Turn off the heat and remove the foam on top.
Pour the jelly mixture into the molds, about 3/4 full.
Make the pink jelly mixture. Add red dragon fruit cubes into the remaining jelly mixture. Cook over medium heat until the mixture boils. Strain the pink jelly mixture and discard the dragon fruit. Remove any bubbles, if there is any.
Pour the pink jelly mixture. Touch the top of the first lychee jelly layer with your finger to check if it has formed a film. Pour the pink jelly mixture over the back of a spoon on top of the lychee layer to prevent the hot liquid from piercing through the layer.
Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Cooking Tips

Jelly powder substitute. If you don’t have jelly powder, you can substitute it with 1 teaspoon (2 gr) agar powder. Please note that the jelly will have a denser texture and will not be bouncy.
Agar and jelly powder clump. Immediately stir the powders with the liquid. If there is any clumping, you can sieve the mixture.
The jelly sticks to the molds. To make the jelly release easily, wet the molds with water and leave them wet right before pouring the jelly mixture.
Remove the foam and bubbles from the jelly. After boiling the jelly liquid, remove the foam on top to get a clear jelly. If you find any bubbles after you pour the jelly, you should also remove them.
Pour the pink jelly layer over a spoon. To disperse the hot jelly mixture and prevent it from digging a hole or sinking into the underlying layer.
The jelly layers do not stick together. Before pouring in the pink jelly mixture, make sure the first clear layer does not completely set. If it sets, the next layer will not stick well. When the first clear layer forms a film, begin to pour the pink jelly mixture.

How to Store

Keep the jelly in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Do not freeze the jelly.

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Lychee Jelly Mooncakes

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Author: Jaja Bakes

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: 12 mooncakes

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Chilling Time2

Total Time2 30

Ingredients

1 can lychee
2 1/2 tsp (5 gr) agar powder
1 1/2 tsp (5 gr) jelly powder
2 cups (500 ml) water
1/2 cup (100 gr) rock sugar or granulated sugar
12-15 small cubes red dragon fruit

Instructions

Brush the jelly mooncake molds with water. This stops the cooling jelly from sticking to the surface of the mold, allowing the set jelly to slide out smoothly without breaking.
Strain the lychees from the can and reserve the syrup. I got 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) of lychee syrup. If you have less, you can add more water until the syrup reaches the required amount.
Break each lychee into 2 or 3 parts with your hands and place them into molds. Set aside.
In a saucepan, add agar powder, jelly powder, and lychee syrup. Stir until well incorporated. Add water and rock sugar.
Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture boils. Turn off the heat. Remove any foam on top.
Pour the jelly mixture into the molds, filling each about 3/4 full. Remove any air bubbles on top with a spoon. Reserve 1/4 of the jelly mixture for the pink layer.
Allow it to cool until the top part of the jelly liquid forms a thick film (Do not wait for the jelly to set completely or the next layer will not stick well together)
Make the pink jelly layer. In a saucepan, add red dragon fruit to the remaining jelly mixture. Cook over medium heat while stirring until the mixture boils. Turn off the heat. Remove air bubbles with a spoon.
Strain the jelly mixture with a strainer and discard the dragon fruit.
Touch the top of the first lychee jelly layer with your finger to check if it has formed a film. Pour the pink jelly mixture over the back of a spoon on top of the first layer to prevent the hot liquid from piercing through the layer. Remove air bubbles with a spoon, if any.
Cool the jelly completely at room temperature. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
To unmold, insert a toothpick on the edge to create an air gap to help the jelly release. Flip the mold onto a large plate to release the jelly. Serve chilled.

Notes

You can substitute the red dragon fruit with other food colorings, like dried roselles for red color and dried blue butterfly pea flowers for blue color.

If you don’t have jelly powder, you can substitute it with 1 teaspoon (2 gr) agar powder. Please note that the jelly will have a denser texture and will not be bouncy.