Your New Year’s Eve Party Needs Champagne Jellies
New Year’s Eve calls for Champagne toasts at midnight—but what if you could drink your Champagne and eat it, too? In our latest “Mad Genius Tips” video, Culinary Director-at-Large Justin Chapple makes rosé Champagne into a classy, boozy dessert that will seriously impress your guests.
Champagne jellies are made with rosé Champagne and look all the more festive with sanding sugar sprinkled on top. The best part? They only take 30 minutes of active time to make. Get the recipe here.
Grab the sparkling rosé
This recipe calls for two bottles of rosé Champagne. Take one bottle and add half of it to a medium sauce pan, putting it on medium heat until it reaches a simmer; take the other half of the bottle and pour it into a large bowl.
Add the gelatin
After you pour the Champagne in the bowl, add six envelopes of unflavored gelatin right on top, evenly sprinkling it in a circular motion. Let it stand until the gelatin softens, which will take three to five minutes.
Combine the two
Once the Champagne on the stove has reached a simmer, take it off the heat and add in the softened gelatin mixture. It should begin dissolving once you start mixing it in—but if it doesn’t, try putting it back on the stove and cooking it over low heat.
Add the rest of the ingredients
Pour the mixture back into the large bowl and add in the other bottle of rosé Champagne (the whole thing). After that, add one cup of light agave nectar. Although sparkling wine and Champagne can be a little sweet, Justin explains that the agave will give the jellies a certain “je ne sais quoi” quality and make them taste delicious. Let everything stand for five minutes until some of the Champagne bubbles escape.
In the meantime, prepare the pan
While you let the Champagne and gelatin mixture sit, prepare the pan for molding the jellies. You’ll need a 9x13-inch baking pan—you can use glass or ceramic, but Justin prefers a metal pan, since it has sharp edges and will help create perfect jelly squares. He takes some canola oil (vegetable oil works too, but don’t use olive oil, it has too much flavor) and lightly coats the pan using a brush. You want to put on just enough that it leaves a thin slick.
Remove excess foam
Take a spoon and remove the foam from the top of the Champagne-gelatin mixture—you don’t have to remove all of it, but it ensures that the jellies will be crystal-clear and beautiful. Then strain the mixture through a fine sieve into the prepared pan, which helps to catch any stray bits of solidified gelatin.
Let it sit
Once everything is in the pan, place it in the fridge and let it set overnight until the jelly is firm and jiggly. The next day, when you’re ready to serve, take a thin knife—Justin uses a utility knife—and run it around the edge of the pan to loosen it. Then, cut the jelly into one-inch cubes, starting by making a straight cut down the center and then working out from there.
Serve
You have two options for serving the jellies—pile them on top of each other in coupes, or eat them right away out of the pan. Either way, make sure you add a dusting of sanding sugar on top. You don’t have to wait until New Year’s Eve to serve them, either. We could also see them working for anniversaries, birthdays, or whatever other special occasions come up.
