Classic Raspberry Blancmange Recipe

What's better than an eye-catching and beautifully appealing dessert? One that also tastes like heaven, too. With its shiny pink exterior, delicately molded with arches along its side, and a pile of delicious and fresh, bright red raspberries piled atop, this raspberry blancmange will be the perfect centerpiece for your next gathering or special occasion. Recipe developer Catherine Brookes of Blue Sky Eating walks us through how to make this beautiful dish.

This dessert serves eight to ten individuals, but you'll want to plan ahead if you're wanting to whip up this edible beauty. It only takes 25 minutes to prepare, but at least 6 hours to chill once it's ready to slide into the refrigerator. This rich and decadent dessert requires only eight or nine ingredients, a food processor or blender, and a gelatin mold pan. You may wonder what a couple of the ingredients are, such as caster sugar or almond meal, which we'll explain later on. Don't let the required steps toward creating this piece intimidate you. It's surprisingly easy! And the end result: deliciousness and sheer perfection.

A blancmange typically is described as a sweet, flavored dessert made from gelatin or starchy ingredients and milk. According to British Food History, blancmange, which means "white food," began in medieval times and consisted of a stew of poultry and rice poached in almond milk. During Lent, fish was substituted for the chicken. Apparently, it morphed into "wobbly pudding" in the 1600s and used almonds, rice flour, rosewater, ginger, cinnamon, and gelatin. A 1660 cookbook credits the French with revitalizing the original chicken stew recipe into the dessert. The English version of blancmange, according to ifood.tv, requires many of the same ingredients found in Brookes' recipe: milk, corn starch, sugar, cinnamon strips, ground cinnamon, lemon peel, and vanilla extract.

Caster sugar and almond meal are used in this recipe, which can be found in most grocery stores. According to Brookes, caster sugar is a slightly finer white sugar than granulated, which is what she typically uses to bake with in the United Kingdom. Caster sugar falls between powdered sugar and granulated sugar as far as its consistency. 

"I believe you can get it in the United States, but it's less commonly used. It could easily be subbed for white granulated sugar if easier," she says. "Almond meal is less finely milled so [it's] a little more course."

The gelatin powder can be found in the baking aisle of a grocery store, closer to the flour, vanilla extract, and bags of chocolate chips versus actual Jell-O, Brookes explains.

This recipe calls for a considerable amount of fresh raspberries, 5 ½ cups to be exact. Be sure to grab gelatin powder, all-purpose flour, caster sugar, almond meal, and vanilla extract from the baking aisle of the store. You'll also need milk, which Brookes says needs to be whole or full fat for the recipe to turn out wonderfully, and heavy cream. You can buy one or two extra cups of raspberries for decoration, too. Brookes layers the extra raspberries on top of this creamy and delectable dessert. While she hasn't tried other flavors for this recipe, Brookes says strawberries would work well as a fruity substitute, as well as blackberries or black currants. If you'd like to convert this to a gluten-free version, swap out the all-purpose flour for either corn flour or a gluten-free all-purpose blend, like Bob's Red Mill 1:1, she notes.

Pour 5 ½ cups of fresh raspberries into a food processor or blender. Blitz them until the fruit becomes almost a liquid. Next, Brookes says to sieve the raspberry puree to remove the seeds, which you'll discard. Set the juice aside. To sieve the raspberries, use a metal strainer through which the fruit mixture can pass and leave behind the seeds. Next, follow the instructions on the gelatin powder box to prepare it or simply add 1 ½ cups of boiled water to a bowl, sprinkle in the gelatin powder, and whisk it vigorously until the powder has completely dissolved, then set aside.

Grab a saucepan and place it on the stove. Scoop into the pot 2 tablespoons of flour along with ¾ cup of milk, ¾ cup of caster sugar, and ⅔ cup of almond meal. Turn on the burner and increase the heat to medium, stirring frequently until it reaches a boil. Continue boiling the mixture for another 2 or 3 minutes. Be sure to stir as it bubbles, then remove the pan from the heat and add in 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract, and the raspberry juice. Stir thoroughly until combined. Pour in the prepared gelatin mixture and whisk vigorously until everything is thoroughly combined.

Carefully and slowly pour the blancmange mixture into a large gelatin mold pan and set in the refrigerator to set for at least 6 hours. Brookes says it's best to leave the dessert in the fridge overnight if possible, though. Once the dessert has set and is firm, it's time to remove it from the mold. Dip the entire surface of the mold, but not the actual dessert, into a large bowl of hot water for approximately 10 seconds, then flip it upside down onto a plate. Gently lift up on the mold and pull it away, leaving behind the beautiful dessert. Then decorate it with the extra fresh raspberries placed atop the blancmange if you'd like.

"This would work for any occasion, but it's definitely great for a spring or summer outdoor party or even an alternative dessert for Christmastime," Brookes says.