My experience of almond tofu (also known as almond jello or almond jelly) is basically the ‘free’ dessert that Chinese restaurants give you at the end of the meal. It’s better than the free soup at the beginning of the meal but not by much. Typically, it’s almond extract with milk and agar agar cut into cubes and then placed into a fruit cocktail syrup. I think what I don’t like is the fruit cocktail – it always has the canned taste.
When I was working in Japan, the almond jello was no longer complimentary as part of the meal. It actually had to be ordered separately. Well, I would have never ordered it thinking it was the same thing I had been used to. However, my friend ordered it once so I tried it and fell in love immediately. First of all, it was served in a ramekin so no fruit cocktail syrup. As I put it in my mouth, it was creamy and also gelatinous, a beautiful combination. It’s kind of like an almond flavored panna cotta. 
Depending on if you like harder or softer texture, you can increase or decrease the amount of gelatin in the mixture. You can also substitute the milk with other milks like almond milk, soy milk, half and half, rice milk, or coconut milk.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups whole milk**
- ½ cup heavy cream**
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp almond extract
- 1 tbsp gelatin
- ½ cup cold water
** Feel free to substitute with other ‘milky’ liquids like almond milk, soy milk, half and half, rice milk, coconut milk, or even just using water. For heavy cream, I have found using coconut cream works really well for a dairy free option.
- 1 ½ cups whole milk**
- ½ cup heavy cream**
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp almond extract
- 1 tbsp gelatin
- ½ cup cold water
- Bloom gelatin by mixing gelatin with ½ cup cold water
- Heat 1 ½ cups of milk and stir in sugar until dissolved and remove from stove
- Mix in the bloomed gelatin and make sure all gelatin has dissolved
- Add in ½ cup of heavy cream and 1 tbsp almond extract
- Pour into ramekins and let it cool to room temperature
- Refrigerate at least 6 hours for it to set
- Serve as is or top with sliced fruit
Hi, the recipe never says when to add the almond extract
My bad. The almond extract should be added at the end along with the heavy cream. I’ve update the recipe 🙂 ~Mike
I must say that I was making this for a first time yesterday and it tastes amazingly. It tasted like soft clouds in mouth (can’t describe it otherwise). Even though is winter now I really enjoyed this cold dessert. 🙂 Thank you
(Only thing that I will do differently next time I make it is less almond aroma (I didn’t have extract so that’s why I had to use aroma and maybe that’s also why it had little too strong flavor)).
Amazing! So yummy! I have been searching for a recipe exactly like this. Next time out of personal preference I might consider using just a little less gelatin for a softer tofu. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe!
This was delicious and I’ll be making it again and again. Thank you so much for this yummy recipe!
Thanks! I love this recipe because it’s so easy to make a simple and delicious dessert! ~Mike
Wondering if instead of almond extract I could use crushed almonds?
Almond extract is made with bitter almonds which gives almond flavor. Regular almonds that we eat do not actually provide much almond flavor. Even if I use almond milk, I would add almond extract to give it the almond flavor this dessert needs. ~Mike
Hello, a European here, can someone help me underatand the correct measurement for this recipy? We dont really use ‘cups’ to say how much of something is needed and use only ml, g and so on. So I am very lost about the correct amount of the ingredients. The tbsp is understandable as their size is usually the same, as for cups… its very confusing 😀
That’s interesting to know. One Cup is equivalent to about 235 ml. ~Mike
the gelatin needs to be heated more than the recipe says. I heated longer and it was great. The first time, it wasn’t solid.
The texture was good but holy moley that was a lot of almond extract… like an almond tree whacked me in the face. I had a feeling 1 TABLESPOON would be too much (for my liking) but when I try a new recipe, I follow it as is before making modifications. I also had all my heavy cream form a layer on the top, weird. Otherwise, I appreciate the simplicity of this recipe.
Your website is exquisite. It is so easy to use, it is just a pleasure. Having such a user friendly site really encourages me to want to try recipes I would not normally look at. I’m starting with Korean pickled radishes and moving on to the Almond Tofu.
Thank you for your effort.
SherryGSilver
Thank you for your support. I usually simplify the recipe/ingredients so that it’s easy for anyone to make. Have fun! ~Mike
Hi there,
Just wanted to confirm if these are measured according to American cups (~240ml) to convert accurately.
(Or if you could provide the measurements in grams, that would be even better!)
Thanks in advance.
Yes, these measurements are all in US Cups. The only time we may deviate from US Cup is when cooking rice which uses the rice cooker cups 🙂
I just love making almond tofu. its one of the fastest dessert i have made, only problem is that grandchildren love it too so it does not last as long as it should. question-can u steam almond tofu?
If you heat up the almond tofu after it has solidified, it will turn into almond milk so steaming would not work. ~Mike
If i am to use almond milk or any other milk alternatives, what can i substitute the heavy milk with? Thank you! ^^
Coconut cream works really well as a substitute for heavy cream. ~Mike
Here to refrigerate is to put in the fridge? Or to literally put in the freezer/refrigerator?
yeah, just the fridge and NOT freezer!
There’s one part that I don’t understand: as far as I know, gelatine must be cooked, but aside from the milk and sugar part, there’s no other coocking step. May I follow the recipe just like it says or there are steps that should be so obvious that they weren’t specified?
The gelatin powder doesn’t need to be cooked, just needs to be bloomed and heated. ~Mike
Thank you, your almond tofu recipe is amazing! Made it twice this week, both times deliciously good! I use agar agar powder instead of gelatine, after some adjustments finally got the consistency right.
For those who prefer not to use gelatin, 1 teaspoon of agar agar powder is more than sufficient as it is much denser than gelatin.
Yup, agar agar is the traditional way of making it instead of gelatin. However, I personally prefer the texture of gelatin (gummy bears) over agar agar 🙂 ~Mike
Thank you for the tip!
Why must cool to room temperature before chilling in fridge?
Cooling it will reduce condensation when putting it in the fridge covered. But you can put it directly in the fridge as well! ~Mike
Just what I was looking for. Best annin tofu on the web! Thank you
Thank you for the kind words 🙂 ~Mike