Damn, I love blackberries. Seriously. I can’t imagine a more deliciously sexy and complicated fruit. (Well, except maybe the mango. I don’t use fresh mangos in gelatin molds because some ridiculous acid inherent in mangos prevents gelatin from setting. This is a crying shame.) Anyway, this recipe was created to lament the end of another glorious blackberry season.
While the pairing of blackberries and earl gray tea may seem random – trust me on this – it’s not. The essence of bergamot oranges from the tea offers a subtle citrus punch that enhances and compliments the blackberries. I wish I can take credit for this brilliant union, but I got the idea from Annie Bell’s lovely cookbook, Gorgeous Desserts. While Annie’s recipe calls for gelatin, I decided to substitute agar agar for a few reasons. First, I have a compulsive urge to change any recipe I come across. Second, many people stumble across my blog when searching for agar agar recipes. And since I’ve noticed a paucity of homemade (and yummy) agar agar recipes online, I decided to help fill that void.
If you’re interested in agar agar, checkout my other agar agar posts: Blood Orange Agar Agar, Hibiscus Mint, Gelatin Tips and Tricks.
Recipe for 4-cups
- 3 cups water
- 3 earl gray tea bags
- ½ cup sugar (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons agar agar
- 1 cup puréed fresh blackberries – approx 2 cups whole berries (seeds strained)
In a saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil, and take off heat. Add tea bags and steep 5-minutes, remove tea bags. In the same saucepan over medium heat, combine the brewed tea with sugar and agar agar. Boil for 15-minutes. Stir in blackberry purée. Pour into shallow pan to cool. Once set, cut into cubes.
5 comments
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April 24, 2011 at 7:18 pm
jessica
Looks delish! Can I substitute frozen blueberries and another tea?
April 24, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Casey_Grim
Thank you! The frozen blueberries, once thawed, will have a different texture than fresh, but since you blend them anyway, it might not make much difference. Blueberries and tea sound wonderful… Let me know how it turns out!
July 9, 2012 at 1:24 pm
R
Whoa. Cannot wait for my local market to have a sale on blackberries!! I’m so glad I found your site.
For the record, I got here searching on hibiscus and agar agar… I’m making honey cranberry hibiscus gelatin and was curious about how much agar agar to use.
May 3, 2014 at 2:24 pm
Jay
It seems that you may be using agar agar in a powdered form? I tried it, and needed to increase to 2 Tbsp using the flake form.
July 5, 2017 at 9:59 pm
Aileen
So, I have now tried this recipe with blackberries, blueberries and raspberries and I could not pick a favorite it you made me! What a delicious, versatile recipe. I once even used it as the jelly layer in a cake! Thank you for creating and sharing this!!