Coffee Jelly

Coffee jelly is like Jell-O, but flavored with coffee instead of strawberry or raspberry. The three-ingredient recipe is simple, and the process is as easy as making a box of the powdered stuff. This dessert is perfect for adults because it tastes like a perfectly sweetened cup of coffee in jelly form. You could even add a little booze to the optional whipped cream, if you’d like.

Plus, coffee jelly can be made up to three days ahead of time, making it a great no-fuss, make-ahead dessert for Valentine’s Day, dinner parties or even brunch gatherings.

What is coffee jelly?

Homemade coffee jelly is made from gelatin, flavored with fresh-brewed coffee and sweetened with sugar. Its texture is more similar to Jell-O than it is to something like jarred grape jelly.

Coffee jelly first appeared in cookbooks around the early 1800s in England. While it has been iterated and introduced in a variety of ways over the years—for example, Jell-O briefly sold coffee gelatin mix in the early 1900s—it never caught on here in the States as strongly as it did in Japan. Today, it’s most commonly thought of as a Japanese dessert. Coffee jelly can also be found in certain bubble teas.

Coffee Jelly Ingredients

Lauren Grant for Taste of Home

• Powdered gelatin: You’ll need one (1/4-ounce) package of unflavored gelatin.
• Coffee: Freshly brewed coffee is the base of this recipe. If you don’t have a drip coffee maker, you can also use a combination of espresso and water—or even instant espresso powder dissolved into water.
• Sugar: A few tablespoons of granulated sugar sweeten the jelly.

Directions

Step 1: Combine the gelatin with coffee

Lauren Grant for Taste of Home

Microwave 2 tablespoons of coffee in a small microwave-safe bowl until boiling, for two to three minutes. Sprinkle the gelatin over the coffee and mix until combined and smooth.

Editor’s Tip: This step is important for “blooming” the gelatin and ensuring it incorporates into the coffee mixture evenly—meaning there are no lumps floating around.

Step 2: Bring the mixture to a boil

Lauren Grant for Taste of Home

Add the remaining coffee, sugar and gelatin mixture to a small saucepan and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat.

Editor’s Tip: Stir occasionally so the sugar and gelatin evenly dissolve into the mixture.

Step 3: Chill the coffee jelly

Lauren Grant for Taste of Home

Pour the jelly mixture into an 8×8-inch baking dish. Transfer the dish to the refrigerator and chill the gelatin until it’s firm, five to seven hours.

Editor’s Tip: An 8×8-inch baking dish is best here. If you plan to use a larger dish, like a 13×9-inch dish, you should double or even triple the recipe so the jelly is thick enough to slice.

Step 4: Cut and serve the coffee jelly

Lauren Grant for Taste of Home

Cut the coffee jelly into cubes, then gently lift the squares out of the dish and transfer them to serving cups or bowls. Top the coffee jelly with milk, sweetened condensed milk or lightly sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

Editor’s Tip: I like to use an offset spatula to both cut and remove the cubes from the pan.

Lauren Grant for Taste of Home

How to Serve Coffee Jelly

There are a few ways you can serve coffee jelly. Here are a few of my favorites:

• In a coupe glass with whipped cream: Lightly sweetened whipped cream or even coffee whipped cream will complement the coffee jelly nicely. If you’re serving this coffee dessert to adults, you could even add a splash of booze to make bourbon whipped cream.
• In a bowl with sweetened milk: A combination of whole milk and sweetened condensed milk is delicious when poured over the squares of coffee jelly. If you want to serve the dessert in something fancier than a shallow bowl, try a cocktail glass like a rocks glass.

Coffee Jelly Variations

• Use espresso instead of coffee: If you don’t have a coffee pot, you can use four shots of espresso and 1-1/2 cups of water.
• Make vegetarian coffee jelly: Gelatin is one of the surprising foods that aren’t vegetarian—so if you want the coffee jelly to be vegetarian, use agar instead of gelatin. However, agar is eight times more effective as a gelling agent, so instead of one (1/4-ounce) packet of gelatin, use 1/4 teaspoon of agar.
• Add a touch of vanilla: A little bit of your favorite vanilla extract would be wonderful in the jelly. Add it after heating and before the mixture is poured into the dish to chill.
• Give the jelly some warmth: Add a pinch of cinnamon (1/8 teaspoon or less is perfect). It’s just enough to add warmth without it becoming the central flavor.

How to Store Coffee Jelly

Store coffee jelly in an airtight container or a dish covered tightly with storage wrap and store it in the refrigerator. We don’t recommend freezing coffee jelly, since freezing changes the texture of prepared gelatin.

How long does coffee jelly last?

Coffee jelly will last for up to a week when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you plan on making this ahead, we’d recommend serving it within three days.

Coffee Jelly Tips

What’s the best way to make coffee for coffee jelly?

A regular coffee pot or pour-over coffee maker will do the trick. French presses make coffee that tend to be cloudier because of the coffee solids, so we’d recommend staying away from those if you’re aiming for crystal-clear coffee jelly.

How can you make individual servings of coffee jelly?

Instead of pouring the coffee jelly into a single square baking dish, divide the mixture between four or six dishes or cups and chill it until it’s set. When you’re ready to serve the coffee jelly, simply top each serving with whipped cream, and you’re done.