I love reading recipe books and often borrow them from the public library.  If I get to the end and feel the need to photograph lots of recipes, then I go online and buy the book!

This delicious recipe is loosely based on one by Peter Gilmore who owns Quay restaurant in Sydney and which appears in his book Quay: Food Inspired by Nature.

I made it as my contribution to a gastronomic family dinner when we all had to make something from that book.  We weren’t supposed to adapt, change or cheat, but unfortunately I can’t help myself.  Whenever I’m making a recipe for the first time I’m always thinking “how can I do this more quickly?”  To be honest I did stick quite closely to the original recipe the first time I made it and even made the pear ice cream which went on top.  Since then I’ve managed to cut down considerably on the preparation time and used bought vanilla ice cream instead of home made pear ice cream. The result looks impressive and everyone agrees it tastes fantastic. Start making this the day before.

Amber Jelly
5 Tbs sugar
1½ Tbs water
1 cup white wine
1½ cups water
¼ cup sugar
1 vanilla pod, split and scraped or 1 tsp vanilla essence
4 tsp powdered gelatine + 2 Tbs water
Crème Caramel
Go to this link to make this component.
To serve:
150ml cream, whipped
Home-made or top quality bought vanilla ice cream

Crème Caramel: Make this in a shallow square or oblong lasagne-type dish. Chill overnight, covered.

Amber Jelly: place the 5 Tbs sugar and the 1½ Tbs water in a non-stick saucepan and cook, swirling the pan, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has turned a dark caramel colour. Add the wine, water, sugar, vanilla pod and the scraped seeds or vanilla essence and heat to dissolve the sugar and the caramel.

Place gelatine in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons cold water, then zap in microwave to dissolve. Add to pan and mix well then pour through a sieve (to remove the vanilla pod and seeds) into a shallow lasagne-type dish. Jelly should be one to two centimetres thick. Refrigerate overnight, covered.

To serve: this recipe is best served in martini glasses. Dice amber jelly in the dish by making parallel cuts about a centimetre apart in both directions. Place a heaped tablespoonful of jelly cubes in the bottom of 8 serving glasses. Place a heaped tablespoonful of whipped cream in each glass on top of the jelly. Then a large scoop or square of the Crème Caramel. Drizzle with some of the caramel from the bottom of the dish. Top with an egg-shaped scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve immediately.

Serves 8-10