Strawberry Chardonnay Gelee

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This Strawberry Chardonnay Gelee is my summer go-to recipe, it’s lightly sweet, velvety smooth and the strawberry and wine flavors are deliciously flavorful.  Think of this as a strawberry wine cocktail that jiggles.

 

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What is a gelee?

First of all, you pronounce this dessert as “jeelay,” and means jelly or jelled in French.

Gelees are not a widely known dessert, but it is simply a fruit puree that is mixed with unflavored gelatin, sugar, lemon juice, and for this recipe chardonnay wine.

Besides fresh fruit you can use fruit juices, broths, and different types of wine to flavor a gelee, so you can have sweet or savory gelees.

I know you are thinking this is just jello, it’s not, it’s so much better!

This strawberry gelee is not firm like jello, the consistency is much looser and has a wonderful jiggle to it. Think of this as a sophisticated jello that almost melts in your mouth. 

You can make gelees with a firmer texture depending on how you want to serve it.  For that, you would add more gelatin to the recipe. For instance, if you want the gelee to be a filling between cake layers.

How to serve a fruit gelee

For a great presentation, serve gelee’s in clear glasses to see the pretty color

Make a parfait using custards, yogurt, cake, ice cream or  panna cotta and top with a gelee layer

Ingredients Needed

• Fresh ripe strawberries
• Chardonnay wine or another fruity wine you like
• Sugar
• Lemon juice
• Unflavored gelatin
• Whipping cream

Gelee tips

I do recommend using fresh and ripe fruit for the best flavor since this dessert is all about the fruit.

For different fruits try using berries, stone fruits, apples, and citrus

Go for a flavorful and fragrant wine because it is the supporting flavor and you want to taste it. You can also use rosé, red wine, champagne, muscat, or port.

If you are not into wine, try different juices like apple or cranberry

I have not used agar-agar as an alternative to gelatin. It is a vegetarian substitute for gelatin but it does gel firmer so I don’t know if you would get that nice loose gelee.

How to make gelee

Step 1. Wash hull and slice the strawberries and put into a large bowl

Step 2. Heat the chardonnay in the microwave for 1 minute and pour on top of the berries along with the sugar. Let this mixture sit for about 1 hour to infuse the strawberries

Step 3. Strain the berries in a fine sieve over a large measuring cup. Press out the juices using a soup ladle.  Add water to make 2 cups of liquid.

Step 4. Put the lemon juice in a small bowl and mix in the gelatin. Microwave for 20 seconds to melt the gelatin then stir to combine. Next, pour this into the strawberry juice.

Step 5. Place the measuring cup or bowl in the freezer for about 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. 

Step 6. At this point, the gelee has firmed up but is not completely set. Pour the gelee into dessert glasses, and place them in the refrigerator to finish setting. When ready to serve add a dollop of whipped cream on top and a sliced strawberry.

This is the easiest way to slice a strawberry for garnish. You need an egg slicer, and just put your strawberry on the slicer and push down on the wired slicer just to the strawberry hull. Pull the strawberry off the slicer and fan out the slices.

Why I like this recipe

• 6-ingredients is all that is needed for the delicate fruity dessert
• No long cooking or baking is required
• This is definitely a unique and impressive dessert to serve quests, for special occasions, but honestly, I just make this because it’s so good and my family loves it
• This is a great recipe for hot days when you want a cool and luscious dessert

Check out these One Hot Oven posts

• Here is an easy One Hot Oven guide on how to keep strawberries from going bad.
• Try this fun Strawberry Grilled Cheese for dessert, yes, you can grill desserts.
• Another favorite dessert is this No-Bake Strawberry Shortcake, this is a family favorite.
• For an easy cake recipe, this Lemon Sponge Cake with Ginger has tons of raspberries piled on top.
• Don’t let summer go by with making these easy Peach Raspberry Crumble Bars
• These Raspberry Cookies are covered in the prettiest pastel sprinkles.

Don’t forget the pretty dessert dishes and of course my favorite flour sack towels with strawberries

First Published: July 14, 2012… Last Updated: August 21, 2020

More One Hot Oven desserts for you

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Turn your oven and bake this Apple Skillet Cake flavored with maple syrup, it’s moist and delicious

Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog.  Please leave a comment to say Hello or just let me know what you are baking these days.

About Jere’

From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California,  my passion for food is never-ending.  Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory recipes with all my baking friends.

Have any questions or just want to chat about the recipe? Contact me here, and I’ll be happy to help!