Honeydew Melon Chilli Jammy Jelly

This was a foodie experiment of mine to capture a little bit of Sunshine in a jar. So when the dark clouds are looming outside I can look at the golden colours and smile, and remember the warmers days. If this experiment did not work it would be fine as a viscous liquid would serve as syrup, much in the same way as the chilli and blackberry syrup. Good for pouring over pancakes and ice-cream. This concoction can only be described as a cross between the rosehip jelly and the honeydew melon cake. This was the result – amber jelly.

Amber is fossilized tree resin which has been appreciated for centuries for its deep honeydew colour and natural organic beauty. Amber is often used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewellery. Well mine is not truly amber, but it has the qualities that make me admire its beauty. The gold gloss gleams, it shimmers and sparkles just like the colours on my wedding dress. This cleverly leads me to share with you, that today is also my wedding anniversary.

As amber exudes a soft, sticky tree resin, you will find some containing air pockets, leggy insects or plant extracts. With this in mind, of course I had to meddle with the pure amber nectar colour, and add a dash of colour of my own.

I love the way the red chilli flecks are suspended in the jar as if by magic. I am rather pleased with myself. A preserve I can truly call my own invention. *If your not keen on the chilli flakes, keep it pure and simple or think about substituting it with star anise, dried mint or even ... well you decide. Just remember you want the flavours to love each other, not fight – just like a happy marriage.

This Chilli-Melon jelly jam is versatile. It is both sweet and lightly spiced. Not only will it be perfect on toast, pancakes and waffles, it will be good folded into yoghurt as well.

Honeydew Melon Chilli Jelly Jam
Makes: about 5 – 6 x 245 ml jars
Ingredients
1 honeydew melon, remove the skin, then chop into even sized chunks. Okay to include the seeds
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 kg cooking apples, peeled, roughly chopped, including cores and pips
Optional ½ teaspoon chilli flakes*
Caster sugar
Method
In a large preserving pan, put in the melon and apple pieces with the lemon juice, cover with just enough water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes until soft. Mash thoroughly to extract as much juice as possible. Strain through a jelly bag or muslin-lined nylon sieve, set over a large bowl. Do not press the fruit or squeeze the bag as this will make the jelly cloudy. Leave until the dripping stops. This may take several hours or even overnight. Next, measure the liquid and return it to the pan along with 450g sugar for each 600 ml (1 pint) of liquid. Stir well over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chilli flakes. Increase the heat and boil rapidly for 10 -15 minutes. Test your jam for a set — setting point is 105C (220F). If necessary, boil for longer and keep testing, until the jelly has reached setting point. Remove the pan from the heat, skim off any scum and allow to cool briefly. Carefully pour into hot, sterilised jars. Seal the jars and allow the jelly to cool completely before labelling and storing.

Honeydew Melon cake for a crowd

I had picked up a melon, dare I say it about a month ago. It has been nestling in my fruit bowl for all that time. I kept forgetting about it as it kept disappearing underneath the windfall apples. It was only last weekend when I began making some chutney and jam with the apples, I saw it peeking at me. Its yellow gold skin starting to mottle brown in places. I was considering blitzing it to healthy smoothie drink; or even freezing the puree as healthy honeydew melon lollipops, but eating healthily has never come easy to me. So of course, it had to be cake. Yes, more cake!
The batter was rather runny, that I feared the cake would be a gloopy mess, but it actually turned out good. The flavour of the honeydew melon in the cake is really subtle. You will smell it at first; and taste it on first bite, but after that its gone.
Oh, I must point out this cake was quite moist as it was, but I decided to drizzle it with some honeydew melon glaze too. This gave the cake added moistness. Just imagine honey soaked baklava, but the texture was semolina like.

This recipe make a huge quantity, so I recommend you inviting some friends over, and serving it with a cup of tea or a bit of vanilla ice-cream on the side. Failing that, take it into work and share with your work colleagues, especially with those who need cheering up.
Honeydew Melon cake
Makes 2 loaves
Ingredients
250ml – 400ml pureed (not liquidized) honeydew melon
3 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
240ml vegetable oil
350g caster sugar
450g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of dash salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Optional glaze: some pureed honeydew mixed with icing sugar to desired consistency
Method
Puree some of the chopped honeydew in a blender and pulse till you have the required amount (between 250ml – 400ml).
Add the remainder of the ingredients and pulse or blend to mix OR if you don't want to use the blender, beat all ingredients together in a large bowl just until well mixed. This is what I did. Pour mixture into 2 greased and floured loaf pans (I actually used my biscotti pan, as my loaf pans were not in their usual spot!). Bake on Gas mark 4 for an hour or until a toothpick in centre comes out clean. You may have to cover with foil the last 10- 15 minutes of baking if tops are browning to fast. Drizzle the optional glaze over the warm cake and allow to cool in the pan. Then wrap in foil and leave it overnight before removing from the pans and serving. Original recipe from here.