However this is not what we had in mind (and neither the War of the Roses) when we set to, to make a strawberry jelly and vanilla blancmange. It just happens that our new mould is in the shape of a Tudor style rose!
It is the first time we have made either dessert and were amazed how surprisingly easy it was. We were keen to try out some interesting real strawberry powder that we were given to trial by Healthy Supplies who are specialists in healthy food and ingredients. The powder was completely pure powdered dried strawberries with no added colours, flavourings or preservatives.They are a natural way to add colour and flavour to food and can be sprinkled into or onto all sorts of recipes, including:
Ice cream or yoghurt.
Jelly or ice-lollies.
Milkshakes or smoothies.
Meringue or dough mixtures.
Sweet or savoury sauces.
Here are the recipes we followed:
Strawberry Jelly
What you need:
1 pint of strawberry 'juice'
2 tablespoons caster sugar
5 leaves of gelatine
How to make it:
Mix one part strawberry powder with 7 parts water to make one pint of liquid. Strain through a jelly bag or muslin.
Cut up 5 leaves of gelatine and add three tablespoons of strawberry 'juice' leave to soften for five minutes. Heat the bowl with the gelatine in over a pan of simmering water until the gelatine is completly dissolved , do not allow gelatine to boil or your jelly wont set properly.
Mix the gelatine with the remaining strawberry juice pour into mould. allow to set in fridge for at least three hours.
Vanilla Blancmange
What you need:
3 tbsp corn flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
600 ml milk
Vanilla essence to taste
1 tbsp unsalted butter
How to make it:
Blend the corn flour and sugar with a little of the milk until smooth.
Bring the remaining milk just to the boil and pour over the corn flour mixture, stirring.
Return to the pan, bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time, until thickened and smooth.
Flavour with vanilla to taste and stir in the butter. Turn into a wetted 600 ml jelly mould and leave until cold. Chill until set.
Turn out on to a serving plate and serve.
Both desserts were delicious and very fresh tasting. We especially loved the natural taste of the strawberry jelly and would definately make it again. However we would be less impatient with the straining of the juice in order to make a clearer jelly. The powder also comes in other fruit varieties including raspberry, blackcurrant, cranberry, and blackberry you can purchase all of them at Healthy Supplies at £5.49 per 100g.
We were given strawberry powder free of charge to review.