For the first time in many months, strawberries taste good again! During colder weather when fruits have to be shipped in from far away places, they are usually much too sour. I find them inedible. In our region, winter strawberries may be perfectly red and beautiful on the shelf, but they just don’t taste ripe. Trickery! I don’t like it.
This brightly colored dessert caught my eye while thumbing through a magazine. The layering is what sold me completely. On top, sliced strawberries are suspended in a layer of crystal clear ginger ale gelatin. The bottom is a solid layer of strawberry puree. With strawberries back in season, how could I not make this?
A slice of this is so refreshing! I will definitely be making this again on a hot summer day.
I love growing herbs, and right now my lemon balm is really thriving! Since I had the ginger ale on hand, I couldn’t resist mixing up a little herbal soda.
Lemon balm is in the mint family. The name says it all – it is SO lemony and fragrant. I muddled a few leaves with some superfine sugar and added ginger ale and chopped strawberries. So light and fresh!
The terrine was made in a standard metal loaf pan. Before it is un-molded, the bottom of the loaf pan is submerged in hot water for a few seconds for easy release. I’d suggest turning out the terrine directly onto your prepared fancy plate or serving platter. Once this dessert is plated, it’s not easy to move around. I made the mistake of un-molding it on a cookie sheet and then tried to transfer it to a cake plate; a near disaster! Cutting it into slices for serving is much more manageable.
Strawberry Ginger Ale Terrine [click for printable version]
Ginger ale layer
1-1/2 cups ginger ale
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs. powdered gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
Strawberry layer
1 Tbs. powdered gelatin
2 Tbs. ginger ale
2 pints strawberries, rinsed and stemmed
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
Ginger ale layer: In a small saucepan add water and sprinkle the gelatin on top; leave to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and cook over medium-low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and melt the gelatin (do not boil). In a medium bowl, combine the gelatin mixture and ginger ale. Set the bowl over ice and chill, stirring often, until it reaches the consistency of unbeaten egg whites. Carefully stir in the sliced strawberries. Pour mixture into the loaf pan (or other mold). Let chill for about 2 hours.
Strawberry layer:
Sprinkle the gelatin over the 2 tbsp. ginger ale in a small saucepan. Let stand about 3 minutes. Set the pan over low heat to dissolve the gelatin. Purée the berries with the lemon juice, add the sugar, and then strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Whisk the softened gelatin into the strawberry purée. Once the ginger ale layer has set, carefully pour the strawberry purée on top. Refrigerate at least 6 hours but preferably overnight. To unmold the terrine, dip the loaf pan quickly into hot water, and invert it onto a serving platter. Slice the terrine into 1/2-inch portions; garnish with sliced fresh strawberries or whipped creme.
Note: Can also be made with sparkling white wine.
Gorgeous! I agree, I have been waiting for strawberries to taste good again!
Oooh, I love strawberries and this looks so delicious! Seems like the perfect summer dessert; think I'll have to give it a go!
This looks so impressive, I will definitely make this during the summer. My guest would be very impressed.
this is stunning…and it looks and sounds completely wonderful too! YUM 🙂
O this looks gorgeous. And you're right; it's finally strawberry season again!!
This looks soooo refreshing and it's absolutely gorgeous too!
this looks wonderful (:
Wow that looks amazing! I have to try this out : D Where I live strawberries arent quite in season yet but I'm looking forward to it.
What a stunning presentation. A quick tip for unmolding – if you spritz your plate with a bit of water, you'll be able to move your terrine around. Once you settle on it's final resting place, dry the excess water from the plate.
Anyway, I love the idea of a gingerale layer. I'll be bookmarking this one. Thanks so much. Stunning photos!!
🙂
ButterYum
It's very impressive looking.
My babygirl is growing a garden for us. I actually have things like fresh mint! Woohoo!
Happy Friday!
~ingrid
This looks amazing. So simple yet so elegant.
I'm so glad its gettingi nto strawberry season 😀 yummm! This looks so tasty, bet its really refreshing as well!
Wow you are so talented – your pictures are gorgeous!
And your herbal soda looks super refreshing for a hot summers day.
I just stumbled upon your beautiful post.
I love how you created this terrine. Unfortunately for me…I want to be honest in saying…I'm not too crazy about gelatin.
I will certainly be back to follow your creativity. Great imagination!
Flavourful wishes, Claudia
What a beautiful dessert! Looks so light and refreshing. Love strawberry season!
Wonder if this would work with champagne? 🙂
Beautiful, as always! Your desserts are always so inventive!
This is crazy beautiful!
I love the strawberries , I can say that they are the most delicious fruits, I would like to taste your pastry ,thanks for sharing!
We've done this dish twice now as we are in Australia and its fresh Strawberry season.
Attempt 1: I read the recipe wrong and only used 1/2 cup Ginger Ale, instead of 1 1/2 cups for the first layer.
It still tasted great. No complaints
Attempt 2: I wanted to "spice-it-up" a little so this time I added 1/2 teaspoon of fresh crushed ginger to both layers, as well as two capfuls of Bacardi to the second layer.
The reaction from my guests was overwhelming. It was an AMAZING desert!