• prep: 15 min
• cook: 0 hr
• total: 15 min

servings:

If suave and hipster-hot is your idea of a dessert, you've just found it. These chile-ginger-mint jellies are an almost academic study in the contrasting sensations of hot and cool. The Chinese consider ginger to be hot—it's the source of heat in hot and sour soup—but Americans tend to view ginger more as a fresh, zinging accent of flavor. Add some fresh chile to the ginger and you introduce a new dimension of complexity that's counterbalanced by the cooling aspect of mint. The result? Your taste buds are rewarded with the dynamic duo of fiery hot and icy cold, all in one bite. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of Gourmet's Modern Menu for Fiery Fare. Menu also includes Spicy Summer Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce and Spicy Sweet-and-Sour Grilled Chicken.

• 3 cups water
• 1 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger (about 4 ounces; no need to peel)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped serrano or jalapeño chiles, including seeds (see Cooks' notes)
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves
• 2 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (almost one 1/4-ounce packet)
• 1 cup chilled heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• Thinly sliced candied ginger
• Mint sprigs

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