Red wine cream or mousse

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 300 ml red wine, vegan
• 500 ml apple juice, vegan
• 4 tbsp, heaped sugar
• ½ vanilla pod(s) or 1 bag of vanilla sugar
• 2 packs of agar-agar, 8 g packets each for 500 ml of liquid
• 500 ml cream or soy cream
• possibly spice(s) if you want it to taste Christmassy
• ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
• ¼ tsp gingerbread spice

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 5 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 15 minutes

vegetarian or vegan

Combine the wine and apple juice in a large saucepan, pour some of the liquid into a measuring jug, and stir in the agar-agar. Add the sugar and spices to the liquid in the saucepan. Split the vanilla pod and add it to the saucepan. Heat the liquid, then stir in the mixed agar-agar. Simmer the liquid for 2 minutes, stirring constantly; this is important for the agar-agar to set. Remove the vanilla pod if necessary. Place the liquid in a cold water bath and stir occasionally; I simply fill the sink with cold water. Whip the cream or soy cream (vegetable cream for whipping) until stiff peaks form. When the liquid is cold, it will begin to set. Carefully fold in the whipped cream with a whisk and pour the mousse into a glass bowl or portion it into smaller glasses. Chill the mixture for at least 2 hours to allow it to set. Make sure the wine and apple juice are vegan-friendly; gelatin may be added to clarify the flavor. You can vary the ratio of apple juice to red wine as desired, for example, if you want a more intense red wine flavor. The total liquid should be 800 ml. I used 8 g agar-agar sachets, which stated that it was sufficient for 0.5 liters of liquid. Two 16 g agar-agar sachets are enough for a light mousse. If you want more of a cream, reduce the amount to 1.5 12 g sachets. You can also make this alcohol-free with red grape juice, then reduce the sugar if necessary.