Home made Clementine Jelly

I was watching Jamie Oliver's Christmas on the Good Food Channel and decided to try out this recipe. Really fun to make with the kids and it is a yummy and healthy dessert. You can use glass ramekins or jelly moulds like I did.

Ingredients

• 5 leaves of gelatine (platinum grade)
• 600ml clementine juice (from about 20 clementines)
• Caster sugar, to taste
• A small piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 clementines, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
• 1 heaped tsp vanilla syrup (which you can buy at lots of good food stores) or a few drops of vanilla extract
• 200g natural yoghurt
• Good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

Method

1. Pour 500ml cold water into a bowl with the gelatine leaves and soak for a few minutes until softened. Pour the clementine juice into a pan over a low heat and warm it through, then add the softened gelatine and let it dissolve, stirring occasionally. Add a little sugar to sweeten the juice, but not too much - you still want that zippy clementine flavour to come through. Grate a tiny bit of ginger onto your chopping board then squeeze it over the juice so you get a few drips of ginger juice in there.
2. Arrange 6 small serving glasses (about 200ml each) on a tray and put 2 clementine rounds into each one. Sieve the clementine mixture into each glass then put them in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or until they're set and wobbly.
3. To serve, mix the vanilla syrup into the yoghurt and dollop a spoonful on top of each jelly, then grate or shave a few pretty bits of chocolate on top

Glam Trifle with Amarula Cream

Happy New Year everyone.. Wishing you a very blessed, prosperous, healthy and happy 2013.

We were invited over to a dinner party for New Years Eve. I spotted this dessert on the cover of BBC Good Food January 2013 issue. So I decided to make it. It takes a little more time than my usual recipe picks. I had all the ingredients in the house so decided to give it a go.

Serves 8 - 10

Prep: 1 hr 30 mins, plus lots of chilling in between (so allow a morning or afternoon)

Cook: 10 mins

flavourless oil for greasing

1 shop bought large Madeira loaf cake

250ml / 9fl oz double cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
few sprinkle (optional)

FOR THE CREAM LAYER

2 gelatine leaves

200ml / 9oz double cream
3 tbsp sweet sherry
100g / 4 oz mascapone
4 tbsp icing sugar

FOR THE CUSTARD

2 gelatine leaves
3 tbsp custard powder
3 tbsp icing sugar
400ml / 14 fl oz milk

FOR THE JELLY LAYER

135g pack raspberry jelly
350g / 12 oz frozen raspberries, defrosted

1. Grease a 900g loaf tin, then line with cling film - as smooth as you can get it. Use 1 long strip of baking parchment to line the base and ends of the tin, leaving some sticking up at each end to help you pull the loaf free later. Criss-cross another piece of parchment to line the base and longer sides.

2. For the cream layer, soak the gelatine in cold water. Gently warm the cream and sherry in the saucepan. When the gelatine is softened, squeeze out excess water, take the cream off the heat and stir in the gelatine until dissolved. Gently whisk the marscapone and icing sugar and add cooled cream. Scrape into the tin and bang a couple of time to level. Chill until set about an hour.

3. Start each following layer while previous layer is chilling. For the custard layer, soak the gelatine in cold water. Make up the custard following pack instructions, but using the quantities we've given. When the gelatine is soft, squeeze excess water, remove the custard from the heat and stir in the gelatine until melted. Lay cling film directly on the surface of the custard to stop a skin forming, then cool. Once room temp scrape into the tin on top of the set cream layer as above. Chill again till set.

4. Make up the raspberry jelly following pack instructions but using 300ml hot water. Whizz 150g rasberriess then sieve and to jelly. Cool to room temp, then scatter remaining raspberries over set custard and pour over jelly and chill until almost set.

5. Trim the brown edges from the Madeira cake then cut it lengthways into big slices 1.5 - 2cm thick. Cover the jelly with the sponge, like a puzzle, using a few bits as possible. Push slightly into the jelly, then cover with cling film and chill until completely set.

6. To Serve, turn upside down onto your serving plate. Ease the loaf from tin using the over lapping parchment paper and gently peel off the cling film, then the parchment.


Amarula Cream

1 carton double cream
35ml amarula cream / baileys
2 tbsp icing sugar.

Whip cream, you can serve on the side or pipe ontop.

Enjoy x x x