This boozy jelly, by it’s very nature low-fat, made the perfect dessert to follow the Tandoori Chicken I made a few nights ago. Jelly is one of my standard desserts when I’m dieting; and now that I’ve discovered how easy leaf gelatine is to use, I’m having fun with different flavour combinations.

The original recipe for this jelly came from UK Food, a cable/satellite cookery channel. I couldn’t find apricot nectar anywhere so decided to use peach nectar instead as peaches also have an affinity with almonds. This worked out really well. The peach flavour was balanced perfectly with the Amaretto and the jelly was nicely sweetened, not overpowering at all. The cinnamon infused into the mixture gave a nice bit of spice but again, was not overpowering. And the wobble!! The wobble was almost hypnotic - I could have jiggled the plate all day!

I did attempt the almond cream (as given in the original recipe), but the texture was rather unpleasant. I suppose the texture could have been smoother if I had used my food processor rather than the chopping bowl which came with my immersion blender… At any rate, the flavour wasn’t great either. The unadorned jelly was just fine.

Peach and Amaretto Jelly, adapted from a recipe by Jenni Muir

Makes 4.

500ml peach nectar
100ml Amaretto
4 leaves of gelatine
1 cinnamon stick
neutral oil for the moulds

Place the apricot nectar (minus about 3 tablespoons), amaretto liqueur and cinnamon in a saucepan. Heat gently to simmering point, then lower the temperature and keep simmering very gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.

Whilst the mixture simmers, place the reserved nectar in a wide jug and add the leaf gelatine. You may need to cut it up in order for it to fit into the jug and be submerged. Make sure you cut it over the jug to catch any shards. Leave to soak for 5 minutes until it goes gloopy and looks like a jellyfish.

Discard the cinnamon stick, pour a little of the hot liquid onto the gelatine and whisk well to dissolve. Slowly add in the remaining liquid, whisking well. Leave to cool for a few minutes whilst you grease the moulds.

Simply wipe out each mould with a sheet of kitchen paper moistened with neutral oil. I used sunflower oil. Ensure that the bottom of each mould is securely in place. Pour the hot jelly into each mould and leave to cool before placing the tops on.

Put into the fridge and leave to set for 2-3 hours. To serve, remove the top of the mould, invert onto a plate or bowl, and carefully remove the bottom. The sides of the mould should slip off easily, but you can give a little squeeze to help it along.