If I had to do a list of my favourite desserts, all of them would consist of jelly. It must be a childhood thing: if there were jelly oranges at a friend’s birthday party, I would head straight for them with sheer delight.

I break all the cake sale rules at my son’s school and send him off with a tray of lovingly scooped-out oranges, filled with red and green jelly, set and cut into halves. And the kids go crazy for them!

There was also a little craziness in Heston Blumenthal’s thinking when he conceptualised his wobbly, luminescent glow-in-the-dark green jellies, and the fantastical absinthe creation that oozed out a ball of cream. (There were definitely no boxes of jelly used there!) Quite spectacular things were produced in Victorian times.

These days, it’s not only sweet jelly that’s a trend, but also tiny cubes of flavour to complement dishes throughout restaurant menus. Dice of deliciously sweet muscadel served alongside seared foie gras, and minute squares of lime jelly add zing at the Planet Restaurant. Not to mention Chantel Dartnall’s delightful spheres of violet flowers submerged in jelly at Mosaic at Orient.

It’s pure comfort to know that there’s a bowl (I do confess to the box variety) of raspberry jelly waiting at the back of the fridge when I have a little wobbly. And better yet: I keep a tin of Ideal milk in the fridge, which whips up to a glorious mass and, when folded into jelly, turns into puffy clouds of mousse.

Happy eating!
Abigail

Image: Chloe Lim