Champagne-Raspberry Gelées

In the spirit of the New Year, and because we all have likely eaten our fair share of cupcakes, candy, ham, tamales (my family's tradition), and cookies during the holiday season, I propose these Champagne-Raspberry Gelées as a light, fun dessert for your New Years Eve soirees.  

The original recipe is from Epicurious and is made with prosecco instead of champagne.  I love prosecco, but I used what I happened to have on hand and they turned out beautifully.  If you're looking for an inexpensive, but high quality sparkling wine to use in this recipe, I suggest Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvee, which is available at mainstream stores such as Target or major grocery stores.  You can usually find it on sale for seven bucks a bottle.  I also love Zonin Prosecco from Trader Joe's, which runs you the same per bottle.  

Other than the bubbly, the only other ingredients you need are two packets of plain gelatin, some raspberries (you could also use blackberries or strawberries), a bit of sugar, and a lemon.

For the Champagne-Raspberry Gelées: (Original Recipe From Epicurious)


Ingredients

2 cups (9 ounces) fresh raspberries
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 750-ml bottle champagne or other sparkling wine, divided
3 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (measured from two 1/4-ounce envelopes)

Place raspberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a medium bowl; toss gently to combine. Let stand at room temperature until raspberries release their juices, tossing occasionally, 20-30 minutes.

Place 1/2 cup champagne in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over and let stand 5 minutes to soften.  In the meantime, put 1 cup champagne to a boil with remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; add gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved.

Transfer gelatin mixture to a large pitcher. Add raspberries with juices, remaining champagne, and remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, stirring to dissolve any sugar.

Using a spoon, divide raspberries equally among coupe glasses or other small wide, shallow glasses or cups. Divide champagne mixture equally among glasses, about 3/4 cup per glass. Chill gelée until firm, about 3 hours. 
Gelées can be made up to 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.