Gluten Free + Vegan | Speckled Moon Cake

This past weekend, I got all sorts of mad scientist in the kitchen.

I am not really much of a cook, but for some reason, the thought of molecular gastronomy has always peaked my interest. It’s basically minimalistic food art, & it’s super rad (google it!). I’ve had this Agar Agar recipe from Love Aesthetics (one of my all time fave blogs) bookmarked for wayyy too long, so when I had some downtime Sunday, I decided to give it a go.

Naturally, since it’s such an odd recipe, I had to document the process to share with you guys!

The recipe, although super intimidating at first look, is surprisingly quick & easy to whip up (with only a teeny bit of trial & error!).

The finished result is so minimalistic & beautiful (loving b&w speckles lately!), but even more importantly, it was super yummy. I had zero idea what Agar Agar even tasted like, so I was really going into this blind as a bat, no idea if I’d even like the result. It’s a reallll good thing I did, because this recipe ended up making enough mooncake to last me for days.

It’s hard to describe the taste or texture, but I would say it’s most like a firmer/creamier version of a Jello bite w/ subtle bits of vanilla & coconut. MmmmMmmm, good.

I also love that it’s called “mooncake”!  That was the name of my favorite childhood book (did any of you guys read Mooncake as a kid?) & I clearly remember wondering all the time what mooncake actually tasted like, now I finally know!

See below for all the recipe deets & I’d love love love to know if you guys have either tasted or tried making some molecular gastronomy before. It’s oddly intriguing to me so I’d LOVE to hear all about your experience.

x, E

What is Agar Agar? Yea… I was wondering the same thing: 

Agar Agar is basically a plant based version of gelatin derived from seaweed, it sets more firmly than gelatin, gives you the feeling of being full faster (lots of people eat Agar Agar to aid in weight loss), really low in calories (less than 3 per serving) & can also help with upset tummies.

Cool, right?

Agar Agar moon cake

» 4 tablespoons Agar Agar | I ordered mine from Amazon here, but you can also find Agar Agar powder in any Asian grocery store (if there is one in your area, I suggest going anyways, they are so cool!).

» 1 Cup Coconut Milk

» 1-2 Vanilla Beans

» 1 tsp. Agave

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1. Bring your milk to a boil.

2. Add in agar, & stir stir stir until there are no more clumps.

3. Add in the agave & the vanilla beans, & stir again.

4. Remove from the heat & IMMEDIATELY (it gets hard quick) pour into a baking pan/Pyrex.

5. Let cool in or out of the fridge, either way it will take 10 minutes tops to be completely “gelled”.

6. Cut into cubes & flip over to reveal the black & white speckles. Serve with a toothpick or a mini gold dessert fork, either way… people will be quite impressed with your culinary skills.