Thursday, October 6, 2011

Almost Ispahan

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Pierre Hermes' famous Ispahan macaron turned jelly: rose-flavored clear jelly with longans and rose petals from my garden and a bottom layer of creamy rose jelly. The rose petals had a real nice scent; yum!

I woke up this morning and found that Billy has posted an Ispahan jelly for the month-long Jellyriffic challenge by Royal Selangor Pewter. I was going to post one too and I usually post at midnight but I better post now before Billy points a finger at me!

I totally missed Pierre Hermes' most popular macaron, the Ispahan, when I was in Paris last year. Dang. I'm still kicking myself for that. The Ispahan is a pretty macaron which all ladies can't resist: pink rose macarons sandwiched with fresh raspberries, lychees (litchi) and rose buttercream. That Pierre Hermes had nailed both looks and taste in one phenomenal macaron.

The real Ispahan is an old Iranian rose, 'old' as in roses that have not been hybrided (excuse my grammer). Old roses are highly scented and in India, the Middle East and the region around it, roses are commonly used to flavor desserts. Think Turkish delights and gulab jamun. Yum. I have a red rose bush which is highly scented and has small, open petals, just like the Ispahan and I consider it a joy to have the plant right at my gate. It blooms everyday and when I pass by, I stop to smell and thank the plant. One sniff and I always feel good. The power of scent. I like to use the petals for decorating my rose chiffon cake, a cake that never fails to please even the guys.

I've used longans (instead of litchis but I'm not sure if the real Ispahan has litchis or longans) because they are smaller and also because I dislike canned litchis. Fresh litchis are sweet, juicy and have a stronger flavor than longans and are very addictive to eat but canned litchis are mushy soft and bland. Longans, although not as strongly flavored, have a good bite and are very sweet too. I am lucky to have some fresh longans left on my tree for the photos. I'm so thrilled to have used basil, tomatoes and longans from my garden and pink guavas and bunga telang from a friend for the Jellyriffic challenge. Now I have to think of a jelly using my kampung chickens!

The first Almost Ispahan jelly I made was a hit with my family (I only post recipes that taste good or my readers'll kill me) but being the prefectionist that I am, I was bothered by the jelly which turned out orange instead of pink. I made another one but left it in the freezer too long and the jelly froze. I was going to do another, hopefully with real raspberries when my terrific friend Yo returns to KK from her travels. But never mind, I'll go with whatever I have and move on.

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The first Almost Ispahan Jelly I made didn't have the right shade of pink but it was yummy. 

Almost Ispahan 
Top layer:
red rose petals (from your garden)
1/4 tsp (1/2 if weather is hot) gelatine powder
50 ml canned longan juice
canned longans
1) Using a tiny metal pot, dissolve the gelatine powder with the juice. Cool.
2) Rinse and stand the Munro mould in a mug. Put 1 tsp of the longan jelly into the tip of the mould, wait a minute and add one canned longan. Let it set.
3) Spoon in the longan jelly, adding longans and rose petals.

Middle Layer:
1 tsp gelatine powder
100 ml water (reduce in cold weather)
2 tsp caster sugar
pink coloring
1 drop of rose essence
rose petals
canned longans
1) Dissolve the gelatine and sugar in the water, heating gently and stirring well. Add the coloring and rose essence.
2) Spoon into the mould on top of the longan layer and add the rose petals. DO this several times, stopping in between to let the jelly almost set before adding the next bit of jelly so that the rose petals and longans don't float.

Bottom Layer:
1/4 tsp gelatine
1 tsp sugar
2 T water
60 ml dairy whipping cream
1 drop rose essence
pink coloring
1) Dissolve the gelatine and sugar in the 2 T water. Cool.
2) Whip the cream until stiff, adding the rose essence and coloring.
3) Using a small whisk, whip the gelatine and cram together.
4) Pour onto the middle layer. Let the top set a little in the fridge, cover with wrap and leave in fridge for 6 hours.

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p.s. I keep all my jelly ideas in a book. When I wait for my son (school and tuition classes), when I have dinner out and when I go to bed, I write my ideas (and those that readers have given me; thanks!) down in a book. It is also easier to make changes on when I am actually making the jellies.

I just realized that I forgot to make the creme anglaise, in my hurry to post this recipe but no worries, the rose mousse makes up for it and Almost Ispahan is good to go.

27 comments:

marie said...

i usually browse your blog in silent admiration, but i just had to say something about this post. really pretty!

it looks like there are pink beta fish swimming around in the top of the jelly. :)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

another nice creation! love this pinky jelly!

Zurin said...

wah another winner...one after another..trust me.

ann low said...

Terri, This is very pretty creation, simple awesome !

Martyna@WholesomeCook said...

I really like your incarnation of the Ispahan, it is gorgeous and well thought out! Did you find the petals "catchy" on the palette as they weren't melting and soft like the jelly?

ninazsyafinaz said...

Ispahan!!Ok now i got to do it by myself..I dunt have roses in my garden..arrghhh..by Im dreaming to taste it now.really gotta give a try..Good job dear!

Jimmy tan said...

Yummyyyy! Wish I lived in ur hse

Wai Hong Fong said...

Oh my... hong yi sent me here but this blog is amazing! for food lovers like me.. can salivate while reading!

Did u end up doing a 3rd jelly?? and how did the frozen one taste?

Sharon said...

I love love love this! To me, it's the best creation so far in this competition. I changed my mind about the pink guava, it"s no. 2 for me now.

Sharon said...

I want t add that i can feel the deliciousness of it without having to taste it. Go go go!

Lite Home Bake said...

Pink or orangey, they both look lovely to me :)

terri@adailyobsession said...

marie: i see what you mean:))

sonia: thank u x 3:)

zurin: *blows kisses*

ann: thank you lots!

martyna: no bc i chewed them up!

nina: it IS a delicious jelly. rose syrup n essence anything is nice:)

jimmy: you wouldn't want tt wish bc it means eating A LOT of funny jellies.

terri@adailyobsession said...

waihong:hey, thanks for visiting:) yi told me u're a brilliant entrepreneur. no i didn't bc i needed to post asap:) the frozen jelly didn't taste good, not smooth:)

sharon: i think so too:) i also like the kinabalu:)but i've got lots more ideas coming up! visit often!

lhb: you're sweetr than the ispahan mac:))

Lady G said...

Oh, the rose and Longan one is so pretty and pink. <3

fishm0i said...

This is beautiful! love this pink pink design :D

Simon said...

I was wondering why lately every recipe is an cone or a pyramid. Now I know, why. Colourful, imaginative and looks yummy. Wish I could try them. An interesting challenge you set for yourself. All the very best.

Anonymous said...

wonderful. simply wonderful.

mycookinghut said...

Looks really pretty! Love it!

ChopSuey said...

Love the colors! It's been fun looking at all the jellies.

Mingosaur said...

wow mum, you also have a diary to visualize your creations eh? Miss ya! :D

RUNNING BROOK said...

When I saw the diary, Terry, I thought of Emmanuel Stroobant as he always scribbles his creations before hand. You have the makings of a great chef! :P

Perhaps each week you can have a theme for your jellies? Like flowers, then fruits, hhmm & I leave the rest to your creative juices...

Nate @ House of Annie said...

Another beautiful Jelly, Terry! You've really got me hungry for rose.

terri@adailyobsession said...

ladyg, aggie: thanks!:))

simon: oi yoh, so slow!tt means you haven't been here for a while.

anon,cookinghut,chopsuey: thanks:))

ming, runningbrook: i need to bc i'm so forgetful!

nate: thanks, so is your terrine!

Cheah said...

This is simply awesome!

timjaymom said...

Love it!

Sherlyn said...

you sure love using the cone-shaped mold. i keep seeing that in almost all your entries...

Sharn said...

You're going to get sick of hearing me say this, but that is beautiful. Went to Paris a month ago and I missed out on the Ispaham too!! :(
sharn.subs@gmail.com

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