The saddest sign that Christmas is well and truly over is the empty Advocaat bottle. Yes, I know you can buy Advocaat all year round but, for me, it is THE seasonal drink. A snowball is such a wonderful thing – like drinking fizzy custard –that I rue the end of its season.
But what to do if you have some Advocaat left over? My suggestion is snowball jellies! This idea came to me one day, probably when I should have been thinking about something far more important, but hey, never look a gift horse in the mouth!
For the uninitiated, a snowball is a drink made up of Advocaat, lemonade with a twist of lime (7up or Sprite is perfect) and it is served in a long glass over ice. At least that’s how Mr CC and I enjoy it. Make sure you stir it well because the Advocaat is much more viscous than the lemonade and it has a tendency to settle out leaving you with a thick layer of pure Advocaat in the bottom of your glass (oh, the horror!)
The trick with this jelly is to add the Sprite as late as possible then get it in the fridge as quickly as possible. Manage that and you have the strange sensation of fizzy jelly – a bizarre feeling on your tongue. But nice...and boozy!
Ingredients
8 gelatine leaves
250ml Advocaat
660ml i.e. 2 cans of 7up or Sprite – I used Sprite Zero
Method
Place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water to soften.
Pour the Advocaat into a saucepan, which is large enough to take all the Sprite.
Bring the Advocaat gently to the boil, then remove from the heat.
Squeeze all the water out of the gelatine leaves and whisk into the Advocaat. You will be able to see when all the gelatine has dissolved.
Leave the Advocaat to cool before adding the Sprite – this is to try and keep some fizz in the finished jelly.
Gently whisk in the Sprite and leave it for a couple of minutes for the froth to calm down.
Ladle the jelly into small bowls or ramekins (I got 6 out of mine) and place in the fridge straight away – again, this is to try and retain some fizz.
Leave to set for several hours or, preferably, overnight.
Serve straight from the fridge as required and top with some cream but this isn’t necessary.
Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.
Eat.
I've just got home aftrer a rather wet, windy and frankly miserable ride home, what with the weather and spying the Christmas Tree Graveyards on every street...this drink would sure cheer me up! Do you do postal orders?!
ReplyDeleteTrufle in a glass? Advocaat and De Kuyper Cherry Brandy.
ReplyDeleteI think your snowball is posher than our version. Ours is: Advocaat, lime cordial, very cold lemonade, and then stirred like crazy!
ReplyDeleteThe snowball jellies sound like fun CC. Happy New Year!
Ah, Advocaat... I spent much of my childhood hunting for the key to my parents' drinks cabinet which, once obtained by clandestine means, afforded me the opportunity to sip Advocaat and suck the liqueur out of mini chocolates. Tipsily hiccuping age of 8 is not good.
ReplyDeleteHaven't ever experienced the delights of avocaat, but love the idea of making it into jelly. Everything is yum as jelly!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! These look good enough to get me buying advocaat all year round!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely description of a snowball - drinking fizzy custard! I can't believe that I've never actually tried a snowball before. It's definitely on next Christmas's cocktail list! Great recipe to use up any leftovers (should there be any...!)
ReplyDelete