Summer wouldn’t be summer without strawberries. This year I planted lots more strawberry plants so that I could have more than just a handful each day to put on my muesli or in my breakfast smoothie. This meant that I could pick them by the punnet-full or more and use them for desserts and in drinks as well.
- Ginger Strawberry Cheesecake
- Strawberry Champagne Cider Punch
You can of course just rinse and hull the strawberries and eat them fresh on their own, sprinkled with a bit of icing sugar or with yoghurt or icecream.
Macerating enhances the natural flavour of strawberries. Simply sprinkling them 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 tbsp water, and leaving them for 30 minutes at room temperature draws out a sweet jammy syrup. Strawberries and citrus are a match made in heaven, so you can replace the brown sugar and water with zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon or orange, 1-2 tbsp icing sugar and a pinch of ground cardamom for a delicious treat. For a special dessert, or if you are so inclined, you can replace the juice with a citrus liqueur such as Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or even home-made limoncello.
- Macerated strawberries
- Boozy Berries with Vanilla Marscapone
If you want to take your dessert a step further you can take some fresh marscapone, stir in some vanilla paste, and spoon into the bottom of a dish. Top with your boozy berries and decorate.
Using strawberries in drinks always adds a festive touch: the classic champagne cocktail with a strawberry in the glass; spiced strawberry syrup in a gin or with soda water – try it with lemonade or even as a shandy. I made Pear and Strawberry Cider – which of course you can serve with a strawberry in the glass or for a refreshing summer drink make a punch with peach & strawberry tea, soda water and fresh strawberries.
- Festive drinks with strawberries
- Gin with Spiced Strawberry Syrup and Soda Water
- Pear & Strawberry Cider Refresher
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