Google+ Allergy-Free Vintage Cookery: Creamsicles and Candied Ginger (Or, Jello All Grown Up)

background

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Creamsicles and Candied Ginger (Or, Jello All Grown Up)

Creamsicle Jello Cake with Candied Ginger

Blood Orange Jello Flowers with Nutmeg
Yes, the kids love Jell-O, but it's filled with horrible things like artificial sweeteners and artificial colors.  Take heart, however!  If you can track down a box of Knox unflavored gelatin, you can make all kinds of sophisticated yet fun desserts with just some sorbet and a little bit of grown-up flavoring.

I had a pint of organic blood orange sorbet in my freezer that no one was eating, so I thought I'd try to make a few interesting desserts -- one for me and one for the boys.  My issue with regular Jell-O is that it's kind of boring, so I scoured my pantry and pulled out candied ginger and nutmeg -- two somewhat elegant flavorings that go well with orange.

For the boys, I left the gelatin relatively simple, and just added the nutmeg after I had poured it into the molds.  It didn't sink to the bottom, to my relief, and when the finished gelatin was inverted onto plates, it wasn't evident -- so they ate it without complaining and loved it!

For myself, I made a grown-up version of a Creamsicle, one of my favorite flavors.  To the blood orange gelatin mixture, I added coconut milk (the creamy part that rises to the top), then garnished the finished product with candied ginger.  Boy was that good!  I used a glass storage container as a mold, and the final dish looked like a gourmet dessert when it was plated.  Very simple and elegant -- and yummy :)  This would actually make a nice dish for company.  When was the last time you thought about Jell-O and company in the same sentence?


Creamsicle Jello Cake with Candied Ginger

1 package unflavored gelatin
1 cup very hot water
1/2 pint blood orange sorbet*
1 cup coconut milk (creamy part)
1 Tbsp candied ginger
cranberries for garnish

In a large bowl, combine gelatin with hot water and stir until dissolved.  Add sorbet and stir until melted in.  Add coconut milk, then pour into molds.  Refrigerate for about 4 hours.  Invert onto plates, then garnish with cranberries and candied ginger.  (If you try to mix the ginger into the gelatin, the sugared coating will dissolve.)

This small recipe made two 3"x3"x2" cakes, as seen in the photo above.  Depending on the size of your mold, you may get more or fewer servings.  This recipe is easily doubled to serve more people.


Blood Orange Jello Flowers with Nutmeg

1 package unflavored gelatin
1 cup very hot water
1/2 pint blood orange sorbet*
1/2 tsp nutmeg

In a large bowl, combine gelatin with hot water and stir until dissolved.  Add sorbet and stir until melted.  Pour into molds.  I used a tray of 12 shallow flower-shaped molds and had just a little gelatin left over.  Depending on the size of your molds, you may get more or fewer servings.  Sprinkle nutmeg on top of the gelatin, and refrigerate for at least an hour.  (If your molds are deeper, refrigerate gelatin longer.)

* I used Ciao Bella sorbet.  It's organic, and contains only orange juice, cane juice, lemon juice, pectin and natural coloring.

** Side note:  Here's a cool post about the excellent health benefits of gelatin from Food Renegade.




Shared with Allergy Free Wednesday at Real Food Allergy Free and Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop and Gluten Free WEdnesday at the Gluten Free Homemaker and Whole Food Wednesday at Beyond the Peel and Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist and the Homestead Barn Hop at the Prairie Homestead and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free and Tea Party Tuesday at Sweetology and Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet and Thursday's Treasures at Recipes for My Boys and Show Off Your Stuff at Fireflies and Jellybeans and Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade and the Gallery of Favorites at Premeditated Leftovers and Fusion Friday at JEnnifer Cooks and Friday Food at MomTrends.



4 comments:

  1. These look great! Thanks so much for linking to allergy-free Wednesday. Hope to see you again next week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love gelatine desserts, but I keep forgetting about making them! Thank you for the delicious inspiration!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love orange flavored desserts! These both look delicious! The blood orange jello is especially pretty.

    ReplyDelete