Cranberry gin sling jellies with spiced cream

A simple and delicious Christmas dessert from my mate Sarah Randell, food director of Sainsbury's Magazine, which combines two of my favourite things, jelly and cocktails.

Sarah says: An elegant and refreshing dessert with a cheeky alcoholic kick. To make the jellies low-fat (as if you'd be worried about that at Christmas FB) top each with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt instead of the cream.

Prep 15 mins
Total time 20 mins, plus setting
Get ahead Make the jellies up to the end of step 3 one day ahead

6 leaves fine-leaf gelatine (Sarah used Supercook Select)

500ml cranberry juice

100g caster sugar

75ml gin

3 tbsp sweet vermouth

1 wine-mulling spice bag

1 cinnamon stick

a dash of Angostura bitters

To finish

150ml whipping cream

a pinch each of ground cinnamon, cloves
and ginger

1 tbsp icing sugar

a few fresh cranberries, tossed in caster sugar

1 Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 10 minutes.

2 In a pan, gently heat the cranberry juice, sugar, gin, vermouth, wine-mulling spice bag and cinnamon stick. Simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and add the gelatine leaves (squeezed of excess water). Stir until dissolved. Add the Angostura bitters.

3 Remove the spice bag and cinnamon stick. Pour the liquid into four glasses. Cool, cover and chill overnight.

4 Whip the cream with the spices and icing sugar. Top each jelly with the spiced cream and a cranberry or two.

Sarah is also the author of Weekend Baking and co-author of The Camper Van Cookbook and Camper Van Coast. You can find more of her recipes, posts and cooking tips on the new Sainsbury's Magazine blog Kitchen Secrets

Photo © Martin Poole

Banoffee martinis and other cocktail desserts

If you’re looking for something a little different to serve for dessert on Saturday (which in case you’ve forgotten, guys, is Valentine’s Day) how about a dessert martini?

OK, purists will fling up their hands in horror - these are, of course, not martinis in the strict sense of the word, merely very pretty, seductive drinks - half cocktail, half dessert - which you serve in a (preferably frosted) martini glass.

What you need is a tub of ice cream or sorbet - the flavour is up to you, a neutral spirit (vodka, white rum or silver tequila) and possibly a complementary liqueur or fruit juice (a squeeze of lime juice with mango, for instance). Don’t be tempted to skimp on the ingredients though - you don’t want these cocktails to taste cheap.

Proportions should be 1 generous scoop of ice cream or sorbet per person, 11/2-2 shots of spirits and maybe 1/2 a shot of liqueur. Simply whizz all the ingredients up in a blender, check for taste (that’s the good bit), decorate and serve.

In the past I’ve made a sublime chocolate mint martini for two with a couple of scoops of Green & Black’s mint chocolate ice cream, 4 shots of vodka and 2 tbsp Kahlua. I see they don’t make that flavour any more but you could add a few drops of creme de menthe or peppermint essence to their dark chocolate ice cream.

Fruit sorbets respond really well to this treatment. Add a couple of shots of tequila to a few fresh strawberries sweetened with a little sugar, whizz then add a scoop of strawberry sorbet and whizz again for a delicious frozen strawberry margarita. Mango sorbet is great with white rum and a dash of lime, lemon sorbet can be enhanced by vodka and limoncello and orange by vodka and a dash of Cointreau or Grand Marnier.

The trick is to add the alcohol element cautiously (you can always add a little more) and carefully check the balance between the base flavour and the booze. It's useful to have some sugar syrup (gomme) to hand to add a little extra sweetness if needed. Oh, and start with all your bottles fridge cold so your frozen cocktail doesn’t thaw too quickly.

Finally for a sure-fire winner let me give you my recipe for a banoffee martini which also makes a very effective - and easy - dinner party dessert if you make it in slightly larger quantities.

Banoffee Martinis
Serves 2
1 medium sized ripe*, peeled, sliced banana (about 100g peeled weight)
3 shots (6 tbsp) vanilla vodka
2 shots (4 tbsp) toffee-flavoured liqueur (such as Dooley's)
2 shots (4 tbsp) whole milk (i.e. not semi-skimmed)
A tiny pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
Good quality powdered drinking chocolate to garnish

Whizz the banana in a blender with the vodka. Tip the puree into a shaker full of ice cubes, add the toffee liqueur, milk and nutmeg if using and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled martini glasses and sift a little chocolate powder over the surface.

* This is important. Don't attempt this with an underripe banana or the banana flavour won't come through.

Jolly Old-Fashioned: a great seasonal twist on this cocktail classic

I was chatting to mixologist Robbie Bargh on Twitter (as you do) and told him I was looking for a great Christmas cocktail. His team at Gorgeous Group came up with this fantastic spiced rum and apple brandy Old Fashioned which totally hits the spot.

"A perfect digestif or dessert cocktail with mince pies, Christmas pud or even cheese" reckons Robbie.

Note the rum infusion needs to be started 24 hours ahead

Spiced Rum & Apple Brandy Old-fashioned

Serves 1 but you'd no doubt make it for more.

Ingredients:

20ml 5 y.o. Somerset Cider Brandy or other apple brandy

30ml 5.y.o. Eldorado or other 5 y.o. rum infused with raisins, sultanas & orange peel (see below*)

10ml Pedro Ximenez sherry

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

A twist of orange peel to finish

Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass with cubed ice and stir, checking for temperature and dilution**. Strain over cubed ice in a rocks glass (tumbler).

Twist the orange peel over the glass to release the orange zest and use as garnish.

* For the infusion prick raisins and sultanas, and finely pare the rind of 1 orange making sure to remove all the pith. Then add the ingredients to kilner jar, top with rum and steep for 24 hours.

** By this Robbie means make sure the temperature and strength of the cocktail are right. In other words taste it!

Two last minute Thanksgiving cocktails

You're probably all organised for the great day but just in case, here are a couple of clever ideas for festive cocktails using storecupboard ingredients from mixologist Myles Davies.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Cranberry Sour

50ml bourbon (Myles recommends Buffalo Trace)
25ml freshly squeezed, strained lemon Juice
15ml cinnamon sugar*
1 very fresh small/medium egg white
1 tsp cranberry sauce

Shake all the ingredients together and strain into an ice-filled wine glass.

* If you buy cinnamon sugar it's best to blitz it in a blender or food processor for cocktails to make the consistency finer. Make a batch while you're at it. If you're making your own mix caster sugar in the proportions of 1 - 1 1/2 tsp to 250g/9oz sugar and blitz together as described

NOTE: this recipe contains raw egg

Pilgrims Punch

50ml Plymouth gin
25ml lemon juice
15ml cinnamon sugar (see note above)
1 tsp homemade or shop-bought apple sauce
1 very fresh small/medium egg white
Appletise

Shake all the ingredients together, and strain into an ice filled highball glass. Top up with Appletise. Garnish with an apple slice and a fine dusting of sieved cinnamon powder.

NOTE: this recipe contains raw egg