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This Japanese-inspired post is in honor of the Austin Bakes for Japan charity event on April 2nd. I’ll be selling gelatin molds at the Nomad Bar from noon to 2:00. All money will go to AmeriCares relief efforts in Japan.
For this gelatin mold, I used plum wine (a traditional Japanese favorite), Cava (a not-so-sweet Spanish sparkling wine), elderflower syrup (an affordable substitute for the fantastic St. Germain), and blueberries. The plum wine and elderflower syrup added a fruit and floral sweetness to the bubbly Cava. The gelatinous result was really foamy, see all the bubbles? The sweet and boozy carbonation in solid form created a surprisingly odd yet fun tactual experience – I could feel the tasty bubbles popping in my mouth.
Recipe for 3.5 Cups
- 2 packets Knox gelatin
- ½ cup water (for blooming)
- ½ cup water
- 1 ¾ cups Cava (or other sparkling wine)
- ½ cup plum wine
- ¼ cup Elderflower Syrup (or St. Germain)
- ½ cup blueberries (or other berry of choice)
Put ½ cup of cold water in a medium bowl and sprinkle 2 packets of gelatin on top of the water. Set bowl aside.
Put rest of water over medium heat and bring to a low boil. Remove from heat add hot water to the bloomed gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in Cava, plum wine, and elderflower syrup.
Put mixture in refrigerator (or freezer) until thickened to a soft gel consistency. It should be easy to stir but thick enough to hold the blueberries. Stir in blueberries and spoon mixture into mold(s). Put in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
“I know a girl who reminds me of Cher
She’s always changing
The color of her hair
She don’t use nothing
That ya buy at the store
She likes her hair to be real orange
She uses tangerines.”
Like any rock and roll junkie hailing from Oklahoma, I love The Flaming Lips. Here I celebrate one of my all-time favorite bands the only way I know how – with a boozy gelatin mold. Inspired by their popular song, “She Don’t Use Jelly,” this gelatin combines the fantasticness of tangerines and sparkling wine – think tangerine mimosas. Yum…
Recipe for 3.5 cups
- 2 packets Knox gelatin
- ½ cup water
- 1 ¾ cups freshly squeezed tangerine juice, strained to remove pulp
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup sparkling wine (I prefer Cava, but a Prosecco or Champagne would work as well)
Put ½ cup of cold water in a medium bowl and sprinkle 2 packets of gelatin on top of the water. Set bowl aside.
Put tangerine juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low boil until sugar dissolves. Add to the bloomed gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in sparkling wine. Spoon mixture into mold(s). Put in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
Instead of Valentine’s Day, this year I celebrated Galentine’s with my single girlfriends. We considered it a celebration of the love we have in our lives – the love of our friends. This chocolate and cardamom panna cotta with a strawberry layer on top was the end to a decadent and labor-intensive meal consisting of super fancy cheese and homemade raviolis.
Chocolate and cardamom – where do I begin? As my friend Laura said, “The chocolate and cardamom are having babies in my mouth!” The mellow cardamom complimented the rich chocolate – it made the dark chocolate seem almost darker. But in a good way. The addition of the thin strawberry layer on top brightened the intense dark chocolate creaminess.
Here are a few yummy variations for this recipe:
- If you are not a fan of intense dark
chocolate, reduce the baking cocoa to ¼ cup. - Add two tablespoons of your favorite liqueur to liven things up. An orange or raspberry liqueur would compliment the cardamom and chocolate.
- Replace strawberries with raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries. Orange or tangerine juice would work as well.
- Instead of adding a fruit layer, make a raspberry or strawberry coulis.
Recipe for Cardamom Simple Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 2-Tbsp. whole cardamom pods
Combine water with sugar in a saucepan and bring to a low boil. When sugar dissolves, remove from heat and add cardamom pods. Cover pan and let sit overnight. In the morning, strain the syrup and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
We added cardamom simple syrup and strawberries to our glasses of Cava – it was fantastic!
Chocolate and Cardamom Panna Cotta with Strawberry layer
Strawberry top layer (Recipe for 1 ¾ cups)
- One packet Knox gelatin
- ¼ cup water (for blooming)
- ½ cup water (for boiling)
- ¼ cup sugar (or to taste)
- 1 cup pureed strawberries, seeds strained (NOTE: it is very important to strain the seeds! Otherwise, they will sink to the bottom of the mold, and show up on the surface. Not pretty!)
Put ¼ cup of cold water in a medium bowl and sprinkle 1 packet of gelatin on top of the water. Set bowl aside.
Put water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low boil until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add to the bloomed gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in pureed strawberries. Pour mixture into mold(s). Put in refrigerator until almost set. It should stick to your fingers when slightly touched.
Chocolate and Cardamom Panna Cotta (Recipe for 2.5 cups)
- One packet Knox gelatin
- ¼ cup whole milk (for blooming gelatin)
- 1 ¾ cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup cardamom simple syrup
- ½ baking cocoa powder
Sprinkle the packet of gelatin on top of ¼ cup cold milk. Set aside for 5 minutes.
In a small saucepan heat up cream, sugar, cardamom simple syrup. Add cocoa a little bit at a time and stir thoroughly. Once sugar dissolves, pour over the bloomed gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Refrigerate until not set, but cool. Pour into mold(s) and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Blood oranges, crimson and delightful, are quickly becoming my favorite citrus. Unlike their gory name, they are lovely, tart and sweet. With a vibrant color and distinct flavor, they are perfect for gelatin molds – or in this case, agar agar set in orange peels.
The blood orange agar agar seen here is inspired by this Blood Orange Jelly Smiles recipe from the fantastic website, The Kitchn. I changed the recipe by substituting agar agar for gelatin. These are surprisingly easy to make and fun to eat!
If you’re interested in agar agar, checkout my other agar agar posts: Blackberry and Tea, Hibiscus Mint, Gelatin Tips and Tricks.
Recipe for 2 cups
6-8 small blood oranges, fewer if large – see these instructions on preparing orange peels for molds.- 1 ¾ cups freshly squeezed blood orange juice, strained to remove pulp
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon agar agar
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine blood orange juice, water, sugar, and agar agar. Bring to a boil, and continue boiling for 15-minutes. Pour into halved orange peels – see these instructions on using orange peels as molds. Enjoy!
This strawberry margarita gelatin mold was inspired by the favorite cocktail of one of my favorite people, Tim Inklebarger. Tim is a fellow Okie and music junkie, former Austinite, brief Alasakan, and now Chicagoan journalist who misses the fantastic Mexican food and margaritas of Texas. Can’t say I blame him…
Now, I realize I say this often, but this gelatin mold may be my new favorite. The fresh pureed strawberries combined with lime juice, tequila, and quality orange liquor created a delightfully sweet and tangy gelatin like none I have experienced before. It tasted like a gelatinous citrus-strawberry aqua fresca, with tequila. The key to a margarita gelatin mold is “Top Shelf” booze. Here I used Hornitos Resposado and Paula’s Texas Orange Premium Liqueur. Enjoy and Cheers!
Recipe for 3.5 cups
- 2 packets Knox gelatin
- ½ water (for blooming)
- 1 ¼ cup water (for syrup)
- ¾ cup sugar (or to taste)
- ¼ cup lime juice (approx. 1 or 2 limes, depending on size) with zest reserved
- ½ cup tequila
- ¼ cup triple sec
- ¾ cup pureed strawberries, seeds strained
Put ½ cup of cold water in a medium bowl and sprinkle 2 packets of gelatin on top of the water. Set bowl aside.
Put water, sugar, and lime juice in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low boil until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add lime zest. Let stew for 10-minutes. Strain the lime syrup and add to the bloomed gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in tequila, triple sec, and pureed strawberries. Spoon mixture into mold(s). Put in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
The margarita – a killer combination of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice – is the best of Texas in a glass. And as a Texan and cocktail enthusiast, I take margaritas very seriously. When making them for parties (or just for myself with homemade tortilla soup), I use fresh limes, the best quality alcohol I can afford, and classic margarita proportions (1.5 oz tequila, 1.0 oz triple sec, 0.5 oz lime juice). For booze, I am presently enjoying Hornitos Resposado – it’s spicy, sweet, and affordable. And instead of cheap triple sec, I prefer Paula’s Texas Orange Premium Liqueur. All this creates a lovely sweet and sour combination with no yucky cheap booze or sour mix aftertaste.
I was originally weary of creating a margarita gelatin mold – cocktail-based gelatin molds are a tricky (and expensive) ordeal! I typically experiment with two or three recipes before creating one worth eating. Shockingly, this mold turned out great after just one trial. (I believe the key to cocktail-based gelatin molds is decent quality alcohol – use poor quality booze, and the gelatin mold will taste like a sweet, sticky, cheap boozy mess.) Along with “Top Shelf” booze, the strawberries provided visual interest and sweet fruity tastiness. Honestly, my friends and I were surprised how good this turned out! Given it’s versatility, I plan on several more margarita-inspired gelatin molds in the future.
Recipe for 3.5 Cups
- 2 packets Knox gelatin
- ½ cup water (for blooming)
- 2 cups water (for syrup)
- ¾ cup sugar (or to taste)
- ¼ cup lime juice (approx. 1 or 2 limes) with zest reserved
- ½ cup tequila
- ¼ cup triple sec
- 1 cup sliced strawberries (or other fruit of your choice – except fresh mangos, see Gelatin Tips and Tricks)
Put ½ cup of cold water in a medium bowl and sprinkle 2 packets of gelatin on top of the water. Set bowl aside.
Put rest of water, sugar, and lime juice in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low boil until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add lime zest. Let stew for 10-minutes. Strain the lime syrup and add to the bloomed gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in tequila and triple sec.
Put mixture in refrigerator (or freezer) until thickened to a soft gel consistency. It should be easy to stir but thick enough to hold the strawberries. Stir in strawberries and spoon mixture into mold(s). Put in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
Oh the holidays! I realize I’m posting these recipes post-holiday feeding frenzy, but darn I’ve been busy…
Since November I’ve been experimenting with pumpkin panna cottas – while most tasted alright, they never turned out the way I wanted. Even the mold seen here turned out strange – notice how some cream separated from the pumpkin? Oh well – it still tasted good.
I finally decided to let go of my nagging pumpkin panna cotta perfectionism and post my favorite – Cardamom Pumpkin with Cognac. To create this mold, I adapted this Mark Bittman recipe published in the New York Times by adding a cardamom simple syrup and cognac. By the way, have I mentioned how much I adore cardamom? It’s a shame many American’s have yet to discover what South Asians have known for centuries – cardamom is a distinctly lovely spice that takes deserts to an entirely different level of, well, spicy fantasticness. The combination of cardamom, pumpkin, cream, and cognac tasted like a unique boozy pumpkin pie without the crust.
Recipe for Cardamom Simple Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 2-Tbsp. whole cardamom pods
Combine water with sugar in a saucepan and bring to a low boil. When the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add cardamom pods. Cover pan and let sit overnight. In the morning strain the syrup and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
Recipe for 4-cups
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup pureed pumpkin
- ½ cup cardamom simple syrup (see above)
- ¼ cup Cognac (a nice brandy will also work here)
In a medium-sized bowl, sprinkle the packet of gelatin on top of ¾ cup milk. Set aside for 5 minutes. Using a blender, blend the cardamom simple syrup, cream, pumpkin, and cognac. After blending, put mixture in a small saucepan over medium heat (Do not boil). Once steam starts to come off of pumpkin mixture, pour the mixture into the bowl with gelatin and milk. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Pour into mold(s), and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.
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.
I’m crazy about Conan. In honor of his new show starting tonight on TBS, I created the Conan O’Brien gelatin mold. Inspired by a traditional Irish Coffee, the Conan involves a cream layer on top of a coffee and Jameson’s Irish Whiskey base. I wasn’t sure how the coffee/whiskey base would taste in gelatinous form, but it was surprisingly delicious. And boozy. If whiskey isn’t your thing, you can substitute it with various liquors such as Bailey’s Irish Cream, Amaretto, Frangelico, Grand Marnier, or brandy.
Recipe for 3.5 cups
Top layer
- 1 packet gelatin
- 1 cup water (½ cup for blooming gelatin, ½ cup for boiling)
- ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
Bottom layer
- 1 packet Knox gelatin
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup freshly brewed coffee
- 2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
- ¼ cup Jameson’s Irish Whiskey
Top layer:
Put ½ cup of water in a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Set bowl aside. Bring ½ cup water to boil and remove from heat. Pour hot water over bloomed gelatin, stir until fully dissolved. Stir in sweetened condensed milk. Pour mixture into mold(s) and put in refrigerator.
Bottom layer:
Put ¼ cup water in bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Set bowl aside. Put freshly brewed coffee in a sauce pan over low heat, and stir in sugar. Once sugar is dissolved, add coffee over the bloomed gelatin and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Stir in whiskey.
When the cream layer is almost set – some gelatin should stick to your fingers when lightly touched – pour the coffee layer into the mold(s). Put in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
Needless to say, Halloween is a fantastic time of year for gelatin molds. My goal was to create tasty (but disgusting looking) desserts from scratch using no food coloring. Overwhelmed with yummy/revolting possibilities, I only had time and money to pull off a few. Except for the Bloody Mary heart (which tasted bland), these were a hit at parties. I can’t wait for next year…
Raspberry Cream with Cognac and Raspberry Syrup
Recipe for 5.25 cups
- 3 packets Knox gelatin
- 1 cup water (for blooming gelatin)
- 1 ½ cup water (for boiling)
- 1 cup puréed fresh raspberries, seeds strained (approx. 2 cup whole)
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup cognac
Put 1 cup of water in a large bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top. Set aside. Put water in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low boil. Remove from heat and add to the bloomed gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in raspberry purée, sweetened condensed milk, and cognac. Pour into mold(s). Put in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
Raspberry Syrup (adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman)
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
Combine raspberries, cornstarch, sugar, and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until syrup thickens. Strain. Spoon over set gelatin mold.
Zombie Matt (artist and future gelatin mold collaborator) enjoyed the boozy brains.
The Modern Gelatina 