Cherry Champagne Jellies

By now you might be sensing a bit of déjà vu regarding cherry recipes. Am I on a mission to create my very own cherry inspired groundhog day? Perhaps, perhaps not.

Perhaps I just enjoy cherries and want to take full advantage of their bountiful harvest.

For this recipe I've added something a little special in the form of Rosé Champagne which turns a simple jelly into something truly festive and a change from those heavy fruit puddings. You can naturally substitute any good sparkling rosé for the champagne but you really do need to use one that you would drink as the wines flavours are well defined in the jelly.



Cherry Champagne Jelly
[Makes 6 - using 125ml/½ cup capacity moulds]

250ml/1 cup Rosé Champagne or Rosé sparkling wine
150ml water
75 grams caster sugar
3 Titanium Gelatine sheets
poached cherries, strained and reserve liquid

Place the water and sugar into a pan place on a medium heat - stir until sugar has dissolved. Allow to simmer for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place the sheets of gelatine into a bowl of cold water - soak until softened. Remove from water, squeeze to extract any excess water before adding to the sugar syrup. Stir until the sheets have completely dissolved.

Add in the champagne and gently stir - it will bubble up a little.

Pour into a jug and set aside to cool.

For this recipe I've used ½ cup capacity moulds - you can make them larger if you like, it's up to you. This is a good individual sized portion.

It's a good idea to lightly oil your moulds using a neutral flavoured oil to help unmould the jellies.

Place a few of the cherries into the bottom of each dish then cover with the jelly. Put them into the fridge to allow the jelly to partial set. The time required is dependant on the temperature of the jelly you're using.

Add another layer of cherries and cover with with jelly. Return them to the fridge to set.

To unmould, dip the moulds into some hot water then turn them out onto your serving dish. Spoon over with a little of the reserved poached cherry liquid and serve at once with a glass of Rosé Champagne



They do look like little jewels the way they glisten on the plate - refreshing and not cloyingly sweet, the champagne providing a slight tartness to balance out the dish.

Tagged with Sweet Food