Rosepetal and Lemon Jelly

Rose-petal Lemon Jelly

I always want dessert, any time.  I long for anything sweet, dense and highly flavoured but unfortunately, reality winks at me, reminding me of not just my waist line, but my innocent heart.  A beautiful lemony dessert with a hint of rose-petals answers my taste cravings, without creating a lot of damage, calorie-wise.

I had been thinking of creating an Indian inspired English trifle for my bookclub gathering, but knowing the table would likely already be laden with brownies, cheesecakes and chocolates made me change my mind.  Why not go for flavour and create something fairly healthy at the same time?  Even if no other desserts adorn your table, this one will stand up on its own, especially after a rich and heavy meal, when it will be most welcome.  This dessert feels somehow very ‘clean’, and its delightful. 

And it’s silly easy to make.  While packaged Jello is truly an abomination, a tight jell of chemicals and colour, genuine home-made jelly is another story.  It’s amazing what real ingredients can do!

2 tablespoons gelatin powder (likely 2 packets, but read the fine print)
½ cup boiling water
½ teaspoon scrapes of lemon zest
2 ½ lemons, juiced (approximately)
Remaining hot water from kettle to make up difference (I’ll explain)
½ cup honey (approximately)
2 drops rose-water
pinch of dried edible rose-petals

Fill up a kettle and put it on to boil.  I made this dessert in a bowl that was both pretty and heat-proof.  If you’re plating this in the kitchen, you can make it in anything that will stand up to boiling water.

Measure one half cup of boiling water into the bowl, and sprinkle the gelatine powder over it.  Let stand while you zest and then juice the lemons.

the wooden reamer works better!

Stir the gelatine into the water, and add another half cup of boiling water, stirring carefully.  Break up undissolved clumps, and then measure a cup of lemon juice.  Keep track of your math!  Eventually you must have a total of four cups of liquid including the lemon juice and water.  My honey was an organic wildflower and local, likely made from bees frolicking among clover.  I didn’t count it as liquid, knowing it would solidify when cold.  I added the honey a tablespoon at a time, tasting and testing. 

After adding most of the honey, I added a bit more lemon juice, then a bit more hot water, stirring to dissolve the honey and any remaining gelatine clumps, tasting and testing.  

Keep track of the math, and balance out the flavours with lemon, hot water and honey till you’ve got your four cups of beautifully flavoured liquid.  Once your numbers have added up, add a few drops of rose-water, stir, and then sprinkle the rose-petals on top.  Refrigerate at least six hours so the jell has time to set.

All this tasting and testing, and doing math takes only about three minutes, so be assured this is an easy activity!

Our book this month was The Language of Flowers, so this wiggly delight fitted our theme. But this light and luscious dessert suits any occasion.  It is great in spring or summer too, especially if you’re serving al fresco!