Plum Jelly with Elderflower Chantilly

I have a soft spot for jellies and make them more often than my husband would like. In fact, he only recently confessed that he was not so fond of this wibbly wobbly dessert. In his family, they often make fun of British desserts and I recall someone once receiving a packet of jelly crystals at Christmas as a joke. I didn’t get the joke, of course, and the jelly crystals looked far more enticing than the bar of soap I received that year.

Such is my love for jellies that I have even amassed a small collection of jelly moulds over the years, both in metal and plastic (Tupperware make great jelly moulds), and I love nothing more than turning out a giant wobbly dessert onto a cake stand after dinner.

One of the first recipes which caught my eye from Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook was this Plum Jelly with Elderflower Chantilly. This particular jelly is made by cooking down fresh plums to extract their sweetness and vibrant magenta colour. This jelly is a sweet treat, but you could certainly adjust the sugar content, depending on the sweetness of your plums. In any event, the sweetness of any jelly is often balanced by a touch of whipped cream. Here, Rachel Khoo lends a twist by fragrancing the cream with some elderflower cordial. And for some contrast in colour and texture, the jellies are topped with some crystallised basil leaves which also adds a lovely freshness.

I loved that Rachel Khoo had made the jelly in one of those large, old-fashioned jelly moulds, which looked so elegant once turned out and decorated with quenelles of whipped cream. On this occasion, I chose to make the jellies in individual portions; this has the advantage of both looking elegant and being easier to serve. When making jellies in small portions, you can reduce the number of gelatine leaves to create a more soft-set jelly, but I stuck to the original recipe in this instance and found the texture to be pleasant with not too much bounce.

Jellies are a great dessert to make when you have friends coming around for dinner, especially since they can be made a day or two in advance. This particular recipe is alcohol-free, making it kiddie-friendly and an inexpensive dessert. And it’s a double treat for me because I get to eat my husband’s portion 🙂

5 stars (2 reviews)

Plum Jelly with Elderflower Chantilly

Thanh | Eat, Little Bird

Prep30 minutes mins

Cook20 minutes mins

RestChilling Time4 hours hrs

Total4 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Serves: 6

A delightful Plum Jelly with Elderflower Chantilly, perfect for summer nights.

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Ingredients

For the Plum Jelly

• 2 kg (4 ½ lb) red or purple plums
• 750 ml (3 cups) water
• 650 g (3 cups) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
• 12 gelatin leaves

For the Elderflower Chantilly

• 500 ml (2 cups) double cream, (heavy cream)
• 75 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
• 3 tablespoons elderflower cordial, or to taste

For the Crystallised Basil Leaves

• fresh basil leaves, preferably small leaves
• 1 egg white
• caster sugar, (superfine sugar)

Instructions 

To make the Plum Jelly

1. Halve the plums, leaving the stones intact, and place them in a large pan with the water and sugar.
2. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until the plums have broken down to a mush.
3. Place a fine sieve over a large bowl and press the mixture through the sieve, reserving the syrup.
4. Soak 12 gelatin leaves in a shallow bowl with some cold water. When they have softened, squeeze the excess water from the gelatin leaves.
5. Whisk the gelatin leaves into the warm plum syrup.
6. Pour the mixture into 6 small glass bowls, leave to cool completely, and then leave to set in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
7. Serve with a dollop of elderflower chantilly cream and decorate with crystallised basil leaves.

To make the Elderflower Cordial

1. Whip the cream with the caster sugar until you have soft peaks.
2. Fold through the elderflower cordial.

To make the Crystallised Basil Leaves

1. Lightly whisk the egg white in a small bowl.
2. Using a clean paintbrush or pastry brush, coat a basil leaf with some egg white and generously sprinkle caster sugar onto the leage.
3. Place the leaf onto a clean plate and leave to cool in a dark place. This will take about 15 minutes.
4. Repeat with the remaining basil leaves.

Kitchen Notes

• To make one large jelly, lightly grease a 1.5 litre jelly mould with a flavourless oil before pouring the mixture into the mould. The jelly will need to rest in the fridge for about 12 hours to properly set. To unmould the jelly, dip the mould quickly into large bowl or sink filled with hot water to help loosen the sides.
• The chantilly cream can be kept in the fridge for a few days.
• The crystallised basil leaves should be used within a few hours.
• The leftover plum mixture (squeezed of its juices for the jelly) is delicious served with any leftover elderflower chantilly to make a plum fool, or even served with plain yoghurt at breakfast.
• RECIPE CREDIT
  Recipe adapted from Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook by Rachel Khoo
• OVEN TEMPERATURES
  All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.
• CONVERSIONS
  To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.

Nutrition Information Nutrition Information

Calories: 576kcal, Carbohydrates: 146.4g, Protein: 3.3g, Fat: 0.9g, Sodium: 8.1mg, Fiber: 4.7g, Sugar: 141.2g

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