Nigel Slater’s grown-up jelly recipes | Life and style
I see no reason why jelly can’t be for grown-ups, too. The essence of the fruit, its heart and soul, set into a glistening, jewel-like dessert. Light, not too sweet and perfect for a summer’s day. When I say set, I mean barely so. I’m after a jelly that can hardly keep its shape as you lift it to your mouth, one that shivers on the spoon and melts on the tongue.
The tricky point is achieving a suitable set. Too little gelatine and you could drink the results. Too much and you have a jelly that will stand up and wobble, which is fine when set in a rabbit mould and turned out for a toddlers’ birthday party, but I’m talking about something altogether softer and more elegant.
Generally speaking, the more acidic the fruit, the more leaves of gelatine you will need. (Don’t even think of making pineapple jelly, it never works.) The grapefruit jelly below took four attempts to get a delicate set, adding another leaf to each batch until I arrived at the consistency I was after.
The lurid (and much-loved) orange and lime jellies of my childhood have made way for blackcurrant, grapefruit and rhubarb. I still serve them as Mum did with some sort of dairy produce. The trickle of evaporated milk has become crème fraîche and the striped Neapolitan ice cream that was so much part of my childhood is now replaced with an ice cream made from thick, yellow clotted cream. Time, I guess, for jelly to grow up.
Pink grapefruit jelly
The high acidity level in grapefruit means you need a little more gelatine than usual. You will need about 3 grapefruits, depending on size.
Serves 4
gelatine 6 small sheets
pink grapefruit juice 500ml
lemon juice of 1
sugar 2 tbsp
Soak the gelatine in cold water. Halve and squeeze the grapefruits. Pour the juice into a saucepan, squeeze in the lemon juice then warm until hot but not boiling. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
Remove the gelatine from the water, let it drip briefly then stir it into the warm juice. Divide the liquid jelly into 4 dishes and refrigerate for 5 hours until lightly set. Serve with the clotted cream ice cream, below.
Clotted cream ice cream
My first attempts at an ice made of clotted cream were too rich and buttery. My mistake was over-churning it. By using milk as well as cream and clotted cream, I have ended up with a delightful ice. It’s rich but not overly sweet, and deeply reminiscent of those I ate as a child.
Serves 6-8
eggs 2
caster sugar 175g
double cream 225ml
milk 250ml
clotted cream 200g
Break the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the caster sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Mix the cream and milk in a small pan and warm over a moderate heat without bringing to the boil.
With the mixer on a low speed, pour the cream and milk into the eggs and sugar, followed by the clotted cream. Mix thoroughly, then pour the mixture through a sieve into a jug and allow to cool. Chill in the fridge, or by placing the jug in a bowl of ice and stir until chilled. Place a plastic container and its lid in the freezer to chill.
Pour the custard into the bowl of an ice-cream machine and churn until almost frozen, then transfer to the chilled freezer box, cover and keep in the deep freeze until needed.
Blackcurrant jelly with pistachio shortbread
My freezer contains more black-currants than anything else. I have been stashing them away for a couple of weeks now, a treasure chest of berries to last me through the winter. I have successfully grown them on the shady, damp side of my vegetable patch. And, as a teenager, used to pick them for pocket money.
They make a fine jelly, tart and bright, with a warm flicker of nostalgia for anyone brought up on blackcurrant cordial.
Serves 4
blackcurrants 250g
water 500ml
caster sugar 80g
gelatine 3 small sheets
crème fraîche 100g
crystallised petals optional
For the shortbread:
pistachios 70g, shelled
butter 200g
icing sugar 90g
plain flour 190g
almonds 70g, ground
Top and tail the blackcurrants and put them in a stainless-steel saucepan. Add the water and sugar and bring to the boil. Soak the leaves of gelatine in a bowl of cold water.
When the blackcurrants have started to burst, pour them through a sieve into a jug and let them drip for 5 minutes. Remove the softened gelatine from the water and drop into the warm blackcurrant juice, stirring until it has dissolved. Pour the juice into 4 glass dishes and leave to lightly set for 4 hours in the fridge.
To make the shortbread line a 25 x 20cm baking tin with parchment. Grind the pistachios into crumbs. Beat the butter and sugar together until soft, then introduce the flour and nuts. Transfer to the tin and press the dough gently to fit it. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Bake the shortbread for 20 minutes until it’s pale gold, then remove and leave to cool. Place a spoonful of crème fraîche on each jelly, break the shortbread into pieces and serve with it. A few crystallised petals will add a little crispness.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @NigelSlater
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