Ingredients

Step by step

1. Heat the gin in a small saucepan until just coming to the boil, to take the raw edge off the alcohol flavour. Remove from the heat and stir through the lemon juice and zest. Set aside to cool completely.
2. In a large saucepan, gently heat the double cream and sugar until fully dissolved. Turn the heat up and bring to a simmer, letting the mixture bubble for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and pour in the gin and lemon juice mixture. Stir to combine. Taste a little bit to check you’re happy with the lemon/gin balance. Feel free to add 1 tablespoon more gin if you like it boozy, but remember to heat the gin and bring it to the boil first to burn off the intense alcohol flavour.
3. Divide the mixture between little pots, glasses or bowls (it’s nice to use a mismatch) and cool to room temperature. Then cover and transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours. They can be chilled overnight and served the next day.
4. To make the boozy jelly cubes, put the sheets of leaf gelatine in a bowl of cold water and leave to soften. Meanwhile, heat 50ml of the tonic water in a pan with the caster sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat. Squeeze out the gelatine leaves and add them to the pan, where they will melt almost immediately. Add the rest of the tonic and the gin, then pour into a 900g loaf tin or a lidded container (rectangular or square). Cover and chill in the fridge for 4-6 hours until set.
5. Just before serving, briefly dip the jelly container in hot water to loosen and turn the jelly out onto a board. Chop into small ‘ice’ cubes. Scatter on top of each pot, and add lemon zest to serve.