Sparkling Champagne and Strawberries

Pop open a bottle of champagne! Whether it’s used to welcome the New Year, toast the bride and groom, or pour over bikini-clad women in a music video, champagne is a sign that something special is going on. This celebratory gelatin encases fresh ripe strawberries in effervescent layers of clear bubbles. To get the full champagne glass effect, mold the gelatin in tall cups—just make sure, for unmolding purposes, that the opening is wider than the base.

Makes 7 to 10 individual molds or one 7-cup gelatin mold

3 tablespoons (3 envelopes) unflavored gelatin powder
2 cups cold water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups cold champagne
1 1/2 cups cold ginger ale
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

In a saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the cold water and allow the gelatin to absorb the water for 2 minutes. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and stir until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Remove from the heat.

Transfer the gelatin mixture to a bowl, add the sugar, and stir until dissolved. Stir in the champagne and ginger ale. Refrigerate until thickened. Fold in the strawberries and spoon into 7 to 10 individual molds or a 7-cup mold. Refrigerate until firm. Unmold and serve.

Excerpted from Hello, Jell-o! by Victoria Belanger. Copyright © 2012 by Victoria Belanger. Photographs Copyright © 2012 by Angie Cao. Excerpted by permission of Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.