I’m a huge tea drinker. I love rooibos tea, rooibos espresso, rooibos cappucino and rooibos iced tea. I’ve noticed that rooibos is also featuring more and more in cooking across South Africa, to flavour, to poach and to smoke food. With 70’s and 80’s foods like jelly making a huge comeback to our kitchen tables, I’ve decided to make a light, sweet rooibos jelly, simply flavoured with vanilla. I serve it with a dollop of cream, some granadilla pulp and a few gooseberries. It’s the perfect ending for a fabulous South African weekend lunch!
Note: This dessert is already very light, but you can take out the sugar completely and sweeten it with Canderel Yellow for a 100% guilt-free treat.
Ingredients for jelly: (6 servings)
- 5 cups (1.25 l) strongly brewed rooibos tea, cooled
- 5 T (75 ml) sugar or Canderel Yellow
- 2 t (10 ml) vanilla essence
- 30 ml (2 sachets) gelatine powder
For serving: (optional)
- 250 ml cream, whipped
- 125 ml granadilla pulp
- some fresh seasonal berries (I used gooseberries)
Method:
- Mix 100 ml of the tea with the gelatine powder, and leave to sponge for about 5 minutes.
- On stove top, heat another 250 ml of tea to just under boiling point, then remove from heat and stir in sugar/Canderel and gelatine. Stir until melted.
- Now add warm tea mixture to cool tea, and add vanilla. Stir well.
- Pour into individual glasses, then refrigerate for a few hours, preferably overnight. Serve cold with whipped cream, granadilla pulp and fresh seasonal berries.