After complaining in my last post about the lack of summer the weather gods finally turned on a few hot humid days last weekend just to tease us, then turned the water works back on again for the rest of the week. I'm still hoping the remainder of summer is going to be sunny but I'm not holding my breath on that one!
So on the hot humid days I had a go at making some jellies with fruit from the garden. The blackcurrants needed picking so this recipe looked perfect for a test run. Adding the blackcurrant shots after the elderflower jelly is set is optional but adds an interesting look to the jellies if they are are in glass containers. The idea came from Jellyologist Jess Mentis (www.thejellyologist.com). I've been following Jess on Instagram for while now and her jellies look amazing. Often they have different colours or flowers inserted in the jelly. Hmmm more practice needed I think on my own attempts.
ELDERFLOWER JELLY WITH BLACKCURRANT COMPOTE
Adapted from recipe by Kirsty Hale - Riverford
Compote
125g blackcurrants
1-2 tablespoons icing sugar, to taste
1 tblspn Cassis (or water if preferred)
1 tblspn water
Jelly
4 tspns gelatine powder
120 ml boiled water
1 c elderflower cordial
250 ml cold water
finely chopped mint leaves
To Make Compote - Gently warm the blackcurrants, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, water and Cassis in a pan until the blackcurrants just start to soften and release a little of their juice. Taste and add more icing sugar if requried. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
To Make Jelly - Pour 120ml just-boiled water into a large heatproof jug or bowl. Stir in the gelatine powder, mixing well to dissolve all the powder. If it doesn’t all dissolve, put in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water, and stir until it does.
Stir in the elderflower cordial and cold water, and pour into small serving glasses or bowls. Chill in the fridge until set, approx 1 hour.
Serve with the jellies topped with the blackcurrant compote and decorated with chopped mint leaves.
Note: For something a bit different I inject the jellies with a blackcurrant shot as they are setting (see picture). This is an optional step and they are just as good without it. To make the shot mix 2 tablespoons of backcurrant juice with 2 teaspoons of the dissolved gelatine and leave at room temperature. Do this before you add the elderflower cordial and extra water to the gelatine. Once the elderflower jellies are set remove from fridge and insert a thin knife blade into the middle of the set jelly and add a shot of the blackcurrant gelatine mixture. This can be done with an eye dropper or syringe. If the blackcurrant gelatine mix starts setting before you can insert the shots, sit the bowl over hot water to melt the jelly again.
Serves 4
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All Images © Deborah Aspray - Motif Lifestyle Images Ltd 2016
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