The boy and his poison: Sloe Gin Jelly

Who doesn't love jelly… and who doesn't love gin? Now, imagine for a second I could suggest a combination of those two delicious treats which is easy enough to execute that it could be a mid-week gin-fix, a cheeky jello-shot or a dessert that could sail you through a Virginia Woolfe-esque dinner party with a minimum of fuss.

This recipe came about after a recent trip to my folks, meaning we were blessed with our annual bottle of west country sloe gin. The syrupy-sweet nature of Sloe Gin usually relegates these inherited bottles to the secondary-spirit cupboard (you know the one… in my case it needs a step ladder to access it and it’s full of random liqueurs and pure grain alcohol) that was until I realised that sloe gin was an incredible flavour enhancer to dark fruit jellies. Obviously the next step was to work out whether I could make a jelly where purely the flavour of the sloe gin was allowed to sing (*spoiler alert* it does). So, grab yourself a peeler, a bottle of sloe gin and some lemon sorbet. Then thank me for the sort of dessert that will loved by even the most discerning booze hound.

You'll need for 4 servings:

• 300ml of sloe gin
• 200ml of apple juice
• 1 tbsp of blackberry (or another berry based) jam
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 6 gelatine leaves (you can substitute for agar if you need to but the consitency will be slightly rougher)
• Candied lemon zest for decoration
• A scoop of lemon sorbet 

Make the jelly:

• Soak the gelatine leaves in tepid water for five minutes.
• Meanwhile gently heat the sloe gin, apple juice, berry jam and sugar in a small pan.
• Pour the heated gin based liquid into a jug and leave for ten minutes.
• Wring out the gelatine leaves and add back to the saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of the sloe gin mixture.
• Heat the mixture on a low heat until the gelatin has mixed then gradually add the rest of the sloe gin mixture.
• Mix thoroughly and pour into small glasses or serving dishes, then allow to cool for five hours in a fridge.

Make the candied lemon zest:

• Peel strips from a lemon with an oxo peeler before stripping the pith off with a pairing knife. 
• Slice into narrow, hair-like strands with the knife (watch out for your fingers).
• Add the zest to a pan of boiling water for a few minutes before removing and allowing to dry for ten minutes.
• In a fresh pan add a cup of water, a cup of sugar and the lemon zest and boil for ten minutes.
• Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and allow to dry on a rack or a sheet of foil.

To serve:

• Place a scoop of sorbet on the jelly.
• Scatter with candied lemon for artistic effect. 
• Serve and devour immediately.