Blackberry Appletiser Jelly & Granita, with Berries and Pistachio Cream
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Recipe type: Dessert
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Cook time: 
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Serves: 4
 
This vegan recipe for Blackberry Appletiser Jelly & Granita, with Berries and Pistachio Cream, served with optional Beetroot Sorbet is a sophisticated and fun end of summer dessert.
Ingredients
For the Jelly:
  • 480mls Appletiser
  • 3 tablespoon + 1 tsp agar flakes (I used Clearspring)
  • 50g blackberries
  • A few sprigs of thyme
  • Small basil leaves or edible flowers such as purple pansies
For the pistachio cream (will keep need to make up 200g to effectively blitz it in a blender, you can freeze the leftovers)
  • 200g pistachios, soaked for 4 hours (or 30 mins in warm water) and peeled
  • 60-120mls coconut oil, depending on how firm you want it
  • 120mls almond milk
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
  • tsp vanilla extract
  • Juice of half a lemon
For the dish
  • small punnet of blackberries
  • small punnet of raspberries
  • dark chocolate curls (scrape a sharp knife across the flat side of a chocolate bar to make these)
  • a few extra pistachio nuts, chopped
  • optional scoop of beetroot sorbet
Instructions
  1. First make your jelly. Put the appletiser in a saucepan and sprinkle the agar flakes over the surface, do not stir. Bring to a simmer, do make sure it is simmering and you're not just seeing the bubbles from the carboated water, it will take about 5 minutes. Stir and make sure all the flakes have disssolved. Remove from the heat, squeeze in the blackberries and add the the thyme. Allow to infuse for 10 minutes, before sieving out the fruit and herbs.
  2. Prepare a shallow tub (I used 2 x 1lb loaf tin) by lining it with clingfilm, and then pour in ¾ of the infusion. Wait 2-3 mins for it to start to set then drop in a few cut blackberries across the surface, then add some small thyme leaves or the flowers. Move to the fridge and chill until firm, around 30 minutes.
  3. Taking the remaining ¼ of the infusion make a granita, by pouring it into a shallow tub and freezing it for 30 minutes. When it has set you can scrape it back with a fork to create a granita.
  4. Make the pistachio cream by blending all the ingredients together in a high speed blender until smooth. Transfer to a squeezy bottle and chill.
  5. When everything is set you are ready to plate up. You can do as I have or make up your own design, odd numbers and doing things off centre generally looks best! First cut a square or rectangle slab of jelly and gently ease it onto the plate. Decorate with fresh berries and a few squidges of pistachio cream, gently sprinkle over the granita, spoon on some sorbet, and decorate with chocolate curls and chopped pistachios.
  6. Serve immediately, the sorbet and granita don't last long!
Recipe by Ceri Jones Chef at https://cerijoneschef.com/blackberry-appletiser-jelly/