Winter Busting, Pineapple Hot Toddy

Feeling poorly?  Drag yourself out of bed (it only takes 10 minutes, I promise!) and whizz this up.

It has all sorts of things that are good for you, including my go to superfood! Rum!

Ingredients 

240gm tinned pineapple in natural juice

2 shots Coconut Rum

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste

100gm coconut cream

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Ground cinnamon for garnish

Method

Add tinned pineapple to your TM bowl and blitz on speed 8 for 20 seconds.

Scrap down sides and add rum. 

Heat at 85 degrees on speed 4 for 4 minutes.

Add honey, cinnamon stick, turmeric, vanilla paste and coconut cream.

Mix at 60 degrees, speed 1 for 5 minutes.

Pour into an insulated cup or mug and sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

This serves 2. 

Amaretto White Hot Chocolate

The wait is over. It's time to dive into your batch of Homemade Amretto and enjoy the sweet almonds goodness you created a few weeks ago.  And what better way to celebrate your patience than with a beautiful cup of Hot Chocolate?  Well I have a better way in fact! Try an Amaretto White Hot Chocolate.  It's decadent and sweet and that  little bit of booze keeps you warm from on inside!

Ingredients

120gms white chocolate pieces

250gm milk

250gm cream

80gm Amaretto

Flaked almonds and extra white chocolate for garnish

Method

Add chocolate pieces to your TM bowl and blitz on speed 7 for 10 seconds.

Scrap down the sides of your bowl and add milk, cream and Amaretto.

Heat on 90 degrees, speed 2 for 6 minutes.

In the final 30 seconds,maradi ally increase the speed to 7 to froth your Hot Chocolate.

Serve in mugs with Flaked Almonds and grated White Chocolate.

Homemade Amaretto

Homemade Liqueurs are one of the easiest and most cost effective ways of extending your cocktail supplies.  Most Liqueurs are built from a base of Vodka or Whiskey and all they require is flavouring and patience.

Amaretto, is an Italian almond flavoured liqueur.  It is delicious over ice and makes a versatile cocktail base.  Over Winter, I like to add it to Hot Chocolate, but I'll show you that later!

The secret to a good liqueur is in using a quality base.  You want a strong Vodka preferably around 30% alcohol for this version.  You will be cutting the alcohol content in the finished product, so the higher the better.

Homemade Amaretto

Ingredients 

2 cups Vodka

1 cup Water

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Vanilla Beans

2 tbsp Almond Extract

Method

Add white and brown sugar to the TM bowl with 1 cup Water.

Heat for 8 minutes, speed 3, 98 degrees.

Allow to cool and pour into a sealable glass bottle.

Add 2 cups Vodka, Vanilla beans sliced lengthways and almond extract.

And now for the hard part!  

Allow to sit for at least 1 week in a dark cupboard. It will help set the flavours.  In fact leave it longer if you have good self control, it's worth the wait. And to reward you for your patience, I will have a recipe for you using your very own Homemade Amaretto.

A note about extracts:

You can pick up a variety of natural extracts and essences from the supermarket.  If you are within easy reach of an ALDI Store, they have extracts on sale this week.  You can find a quality Almond Extract for sale on eBay here:  http://ebay.to/29ahi7f

 One of these days I might look at creating my own extracts but for now, these store bought substitutes do a great job.

Chasing Summer Strawberry Punch

In a last ditch effort to keep warm, I've escaped North for the weekend.  It's warm up here, like Winter never arrived. They are still wearing singlets!  

And in celebration, I've whipped up a jug full of Strawberry Punch. 

Ingredients 

1 punnet strawberries (you could use frozen if you can't find fresh)

1 cup Orange Juice

4 cups Raspberry Softdrink

1 cup Sodawater

1 cup Galliano

1 cup Candy Liqueur

Method

Whizz up your strawberries with soda water for 20 seconds speed 5.

Pour in remaining ingredients and mix for 15 seconds, speed 3.

Pour into a large jug with ice..

Serves 6

You can omit the alcohol for a mocktail version, I won't tell anyone.

Chasing Summer is the perfect name for this one. 

Cheesecake Martini

You've heard of deconstructed cheesecake right? Well this is exactly that, but with Vodka.  Because Vodka goes with everything!

It's a bit like licking the bowl after you put your cheesecake in the fridge to set and it could definitely be the drink you whip up in your Thermomix to make use of the leftover cheesecake filling.  Now that's a good idea.

Ingredients 

80gm cream cheese

150gm vanilla ice cream

1 shot vodka

Tiny squeeze of lemon

Milk and sugar to taste

2 Kingston biscuits to garnish

Method

Add cream cheese, ice cream, vodka and lemon juice to your TM bowl. 

Mix on speed 6 for 20 seconds.

Taste and add sugar to taste.

You can add a splash of milk to thin the texture if you prefer.

Crush a Kingston biscuit onto a plate, rim your Martini glass with the mixture that is stuck to the top of your TM lid (life hack here, a martini glass fits perfectly) and roll in biscuit crumbs.  You can pop into the freezer a few minutes to set if you like.

Garnish with half a biscuit.

Baby it's Cold Outside

Break out the flanelette sheets and bed socks, Winter is coming!  

Game of Thrones references aside, you will need something to warm your insides while binge watching the latest episodes.

So I present you with Hot, Vanilla Buttered Rum.  

Ingredients

1 vanilla bean scraped

125gm salted butter

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method

To make Vanilla Butter

Mix butter, vanilla seeds, brown sugar and cinnamon in TM bowl 20 seconds speed 6.

Transfer to a jar and store in your refrigerator during winter.

To make a Vanilla Buttered Rum,

Add 1 tablespoon of your vanilla butter to a mug with 30ml of Rum.

Top up with boiling water and add a little brown sugar to taste.

Mix it all together and sip until your all toasty warm.

Now look, it's not a complex drink, it is just hot water and rum, but I think it could be both comforting and warm.  Almost like I imagine the God of Tits and Wine!

I'm Cheating on Kahlua!

I've been keeping this secret and well, i need to get it off my chest.  Be warned though, once you realise how easy it is to give into temptation, you might just consider infidelity too!

 

There are many recipes for DIY Liqueurs and they are pretty awesome, cheaper than the brand names and delicious.  They make great gifts and even better cocktails.  You can find my Thermomix Recipe for White Chocolate Liqueur here. 

 

There are a few basics that nearly everyone who buys a Thermomix makes.  Vanilla Essence or as I like to call it, Vanilla Vodka because I just can't leave it long enough to turn into essence. It's pretty easy and in fact doesn't require a Thermomix at all.  But it does require Vanilla beans.  My passport expired, but fortunately I have an awesome friend who went to Bali recently and bought home plenty of beans.  Most of the popular Thermomix pages discuss where to source vanilla beans from, so you don't have to book a holiday. (But you do deserve one!) 

 

 

 

Another popular recipe doing the rounds is Iced Coffee Syrup.  Posted by Fruityone on the Recipe Community, it lends itself perfectly to a little tweaking depending on your tastes.  I'm not a coffee snob, so instant coffee works fine for me, but if Espresso is more your style, then use that instead.  No judgement here.

 

 

 

And here's the dirty little secret, if you mix both of these together, you make Kahlua. Its seriously that easy and totally authentic.  I have perused many recipes and I can tell you that this is the real deal, hiding in plain sight and next to each other on the pantry shelf.

 

 

Here's the details......

 

Ingredients 

Vanilla Essence

750ml Vodka (medium quality stuff, about 30% proof)

10-12 whole vanilla beans

 

Iced Coffee Syrup (as per Recipe Community)

1 cup raw sugar

1 cup instantcoffee 

1 cup boiling water

 

Method

Vanilla Essence

Place your vanilla beans in your vodka.

Place in a dark place for a few weeks - months.

 

Notes:

If you already have a batch of this steeping away in your cupboard, then grab it out and use it right now. 

You can adjust your finished essence back to vanilla vodka by combining half essence and half plain vodka.

Top up your bottle of essence with more vodka and pop it back in the cupboard for next time!

 

Iced Coffee Syrup

Dissolve your coffee and sugar with a cup of boiling water in your TM bowl.

Let steep for 10 minutes.

Cook at 90 degrees for 10 minutes, speed 3.

Allow to cool.

And now for the magic

Kahlua

Into a sterilised bottle (any size), add half Vanilla Vodka and half Iced Coffe Syrup.

Give it a quick shake, you can use it straight away,  no need to set aside to infuse.

Seriously, that's it. Temptation bottled.

 

Now for a cocktail.  Have you tried my Iced Espresso Martini? How about a White Russian Milkshake?

 

 

 

Candy Liqueur presents the Foxy Roxy

This week I am showcasing Candy Liqueur, a fabulous new product, just 3 months old and already wowing customers in QLD and NSW.

 

         

 

 

This raspberry flavoured vodka, created by Matthew Fraser of Brisbane is a game changer.  Sales enquiries and stockist information is available at http://thecandyliqueurco.com.au or check out the Facebook page https://www.facebookcom/candy liqueur 

 

Candy Liqueur - Raspberry is produced using certified organic, 5 times distilled and 3 times charcoal filtered Vodka. That's a mouthful, but basically it means this is good for you and the environment! Say thank you Mr Liver!

 

 

Candy Liqueur has a wonderful raspberry nose, creamy textured mouth feel followed by sweet raspberry and vanilla flavours, balanced with just enough fire on the finish.  Slap a dress on her and she might just take you dancing!

 

Best served over ice with lemonade, it tastes like Shirley Temples or Creaming Soda, and it is versatile; helping to recreate many favourites like the Fruit Tingle, Cosmo and the Moscow Mule which you can find here.

 

This week we have assembled the Signature Cocktail from Candy Liqueur, The Foxy Roxy. It is sweet but tart, very moreish and super easy. I'm sure you will love it! 

 

 

You'll need some of my Strawberry Syrup and a few other staples.  Scale this recipe up if you have hangers on hovering about. This recipe serves 1.

 

 

Ingredients 

60ml  Candy Liqueur

10ml Strawberry Syrup

45ml Guava juice

45ml Cloudy Apple juice

Squeeze of lemon juice

Sugar to rim your glass 

 

Method

Add Candy Liqueur to your TM bowl with Strawberry syrup and juices.

Throw a handful of ice in and mix gently on speed 2.5 for 5 seconds.

Rim your Martini glass with lemon and sugar.

Pour into glass and enjoy.

 

 Stay Foxy xxxx

 

Raspberry Moscow Mule

I am so excited to introduce you all to my new favourite Vodka. And it's Raspberry flavoured!

Matt from Candy Liqueur Co. sent me this shiny new bottle of heaven to showcase and I am slowly (alright very quickly) working my way through a list of favourites. I will share a few of them with you over the next few weeks, including the Candy Liqueur signature cocktail, Foxy Roxy.

I was already channeling ginger beer this week, and I'll use any excuse to buy new cocktail crockery, so a Moscow Mule it is. Pretty simple cocktail really, vodka, ginger beer and lime, but what if you added raspberries? Now what about Raspberry flavoured vodka? I think the KGB might have something to say about that!

Mother Russia presents, the Raspberry Moscow Mule.

Ingredients 

180gm ice

50 gm frozen raspberries

100ml Candy Liqueur Raspberry Vodka

75gm ginger cordial

Soda Water

Lime juice

Method

Add ice, frozen raspberries and candy liqueur to your TM bowl.

Blend speed 6 for 15 seconds.

Add ginger cordial and combine 5 seconds speed 3.

Over ice, pour half your raspberry mixture into a copper mug.

Top mug with soda and a squeeze of lime.

Garnish with mint leaves

Head on over to www.thecandyliqueurco.com to order your bottle of Candy Liqueur or visit the Facebook page 

Pomegranate & Strawberry Mimosas

It's Mother's Day this weekend and like many of you, I will wake up early on Sunday morning and wait in bed much longer than my bladder would like, to receive my luke warm cup of milky tea and burnt toast.  But I won't complain (much) because shortly after breakfast, comes brunch!  And do you know what goes with Mother's Day Brunch?  Mimosas!  The cocktail that justifies drinking booze before noon, as long as it has juice in it. 

 

These Pomegranate and Strawberry Mimosas are perfect for celebrating the joy of motherhood and help you forget all about the burnt toast and cold tea!  

 

 

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 Pomegranates 

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon sugar

Sparkling wine (Prosecco or Champagne)

Strawberry syrup (See here for the recipe)

 

Method

Scoop out the seeds of 2 Pomegranates into the TM bowl, reserving about a tablespoon for garnish.

Add a 1/2 cup of water.

Blitz on speed 7 for 30 seconds.

Pour through a fine seive, pressing all the liquid through with a spatula.

You should end up with about a cup of dark pomegranate juice.

 

There are plenty of useless tips for how to get the seeds out of a Pomegranate. Don't bother trying too hard, it will always end up looking like a crime scene!

 

To assemble the Mimosa

Add 1 tablespoon of juice and 1 tablespoon syrup to a champagne flute and top up with Wine!

Garnish with a strawberry and reserved pomegranate arils.

 

To all the mums out there, whether you are one, have one or wish you could be one!  Have a wonderful day!

 

 

 

Rosemary Lemonade Gin

 

This week's cocktail commemorates the Anzacs. Lest we Forget.

 

 

 

It's an old time favourite, using my Lemonade Syrup with a hint of Rosemary and a dash of Pineapple juice.

Try it during a Rising Sun.

 

 

 

Ingredients 

2 shots lemonade syrup

1 shot pineapple juice

1 shot gin

200ml water

Ice

 

Method

Over ice, poor lemonade syrup, pineapple juice and gin. 

Top up glass with water.

Garnish with a sprig of Rosemary.

 

 

Lemonade Syrup

Lemons are prolific at my house.  I have 3 trees that are so badly cared for that out of sheer spite, they seem to fruit all year long and with a vengeance.  They have rebelled against civilisation, sprouted from the root stock and are now so thorny, even the bugs don't want to touch them! But the fruit is Devine.  Sweet, citrusy and full of juice.

And because my dogs can now tell the difference between a lemon and a tennis ball I've had to make lemonade syrup to make a dent in my ever expanding supply.

This will keep well in your fridge for at least 3 months, given the sugar content and you could try with alternative sugars according to your preferences. It's versatile too, check out the tips for some idea.

Ingredients 

2 cups caster sugar

1/3 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 cups fresh lemon juice

Method

1. Add sugar and water to your TM bowl.

2. Set temp 100 degrees, 6 minutes, speed 3.

3. To your sugar , add lemon juice and zest.

4. Set temp to 100 degrees, speed 3 for 1 minute.

5. Allow to cool slightly before pouring your syrup into a clean, sterilised bottle.

Tips

* To make Traditional Lemonade, add 2 tablespoons of syrup to 250ml of cold water. 

*Use in your soda stream as a substitute for packaged syrup.

*You could use the syrup as is, over pancakes or as a drizzle over your favourite cake or slice. 

*You could add a few tablespoons to cream cheese to make lemon frosting. 

*You could take swigs from the bottle if you just can't help yourself. 

*Try a shot with your scotch on the rocks, even in a bourbon and coke.

But you came here for cocktails........I'll get right on that. It isn't Friday just yet!

Butterscotch Apple-tini

Hands up if you love Apple Pie! Hands up if you love cocktails!

What if you could eliminate the tedious task of chewing while embracing the wonderment that is the Butterscotch Appletini?  Well now you can.

Its a feat of molecular gastronomy!

The Apple purée is so good, you could actually use it to make an apple pie!

Ingredients 

Apple purée

6 small green apples

80gm brown sugar

50gm butter

50ml butterscotch schnapps

Cocktail

2 shots vodka

1 shot butterscotch schnapps

2 tablespoons Apple purée

100ml Apple juice

Handful of ice

Apple slice and cinnamon to garnish.

Method

Apple purée

Core and slice apples in quarters

Add sugar, butter and schnapps

Cook 10min 105 degrees, reverse speed 1

Cocktail

Mix all ingredients together in a cocktail shaker and pour into martini glasses.

Garnish with apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon.

Passionfruit Hurricane

 

Sometimes I have a recipe in mind and sometimes I wing it.  Let's face it cocktail recipes aren't too hard to figure out.  This recipe was one of those toss it all together and taste recipes.  It is loosely based on a Hurricane cocktail from New Orleans, but only in that it has 2 types of rum! It is a a little bit tart, but I know lots of you love that.

 

 

 

It also uses the Passionfruit Juice Concentrate recipe that I posted recently, and if you were playing along last week, my Homemade Strawberry Syrup!

 

Ingredients 

2 shots white rum

2 shots dark rum

200ml passionfruit juice

100ml pineapple juice

1 shot  agave nectar or simple syrup

2 shots strawberry syrup or grenadine

500gm ice

 

Method

Add ice to your TM bowl.

Add rum and juice and blitz for 30 seconds on speed 9.

Add agave nectar and strawberry syrup or grenadine if you like a more tart cocktail, adjust to your taste.

Pour into a glass and top with a halved fresh passionfruit.  Dip your passionfruit into the cocktail for an extra treat.

 

Homemade Strawberry Syrup

I whipped this up a few weeks ago after finding a punnet of strawberries hiding in my fridge.  Rather than create a fresh batch of Penicillin, I opted for a fresh batch of strawberry syrup.

 

 

Ingredients 

500gm fresh strawberries

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup water

 

Method

Remove the green from your strawberries and slice in halves.

Add strawberries, sugar and water to your TM bowl, cook at 100 degrees for 10minutes on speed 5.

Strain mixture through a fine mesh seive to remove the seeds and pulp.  Push out as much liquid as you can to ensure you get the most from your strawberries.

Allow to cool, then bottle and refrigerate for up to 3 months.

 

You can use the syrup in this wonderful cocktail or to make strawberry milk or over pancakes. Personally I'd go with cocktails!!!

 

 

 

 

Strawberry & Cream Daiquiri

I'm back, after a lovely Easter break with family.  It's been slow on the cocktail scene, but my excuse is that it was Good Friday and I couldn't stomach a seafood cocktail! 

 

My baby sister and her family came to visit over Easter to join in on our annual family camping trip.  And because Mr Thermomix Me A Drink believes that camping should be a survival activity, complete with dug in latrines and rations, my thermomix was not allowed to come. 

 

So as soon as we arrived home, and so as not to neglect my cocktail duties, I created this treat for my sister who has always been known as Strawberry Shortcake amongst our family.  And while this isn't quite cake, it is definitely strawberry and cream flavoured.

 

 

 

Ingredients 

500gm ice

200gm frozen strawberries

100gm strawberry syrup *

4 shots Whipped Cream flavoured Vodka

Liquid sweetener to taste

100gm pouring cream

 

Method

Add ice, strawberries, syrup and vodka to your TM bowl

Blitz on speed 10 for up to 1 minute, helping the mixture with your TM Spatula.

Taste the mixture for sweetness and add some liquid sweetener to break through any tartness.

Add cream and mix on speed 5 for 10 seconds.

Serve in a pretty glass and garnish with a lolly!

 

 

This would be sooooo good as ice cream, the vodka would keep it soft and scoopable, if you can resist the temptation to lick the bowl!

 

 I hope you've had a relaxing Easter break. Stay classy!

 

 * I made a batch of Strawberry syrup a few weeks ago, you can find the recipe here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drunken Grasshopper

Kiss me I'm Irish! It might be a little late, but the sun hasn't quite set on St Patrick's Day yet. This is my favourite holiday. Not only does it give me an excuse for cocktails, but it's the only day of the year I can truly celebrate my red hair and freckled complexion!

Standard practise suggests you must consume something green and with potatoes, well vodka is kind of like potatoes and green is the colour of creme de menthe.  Must be a lucky charm.

In keeping with my frozen theme, I've elected to deviate from the normal Grasshopper you would find in cocktail bars all over town. My version is more like a frappe and I've doubled the alcohol content so you don't have to make another round, making more room for Irish Stew!

Ingredients

500gm vanilla icecream 

500gm ice

3 shots Creme de Menthe

3 shots White Chocolate Liquer (see my recipe here)

1 shot Peppermint Vodka

25-50gm thickened cream 

Chocolate flakes and mint for garnish

Method

Add ice cream, ice and alcohol to TM bowl.

Blitz speed 9 for 40 seconds.

After 20 seconds, gently pour cream, a tablespoon at a time until you have a achieved a milkshake texture.

Serve in a milkshake glass, sprinkle with chocolate flakes and add a sprig of fresh mint.

Disclaimer: Kiss Irish people at your discretion!

Limincello

I've had this little baby steeping away since January and figured that I might as well show you all just how easy it is to make, and drink at home!

Limoncello is a traditional Italian liquor, made with Lemons.  It is made by everyone in places like Tuscany or Sorrento and is a staple in rustic farmhouses all over the hills of Italy. And well let's face it, I'm not gonna get to Italy anytime soon (read ever) so I decided the next best thing would be to make Limincello and bathe under the QLD Sun (with plenty of SPF 50+)

There is not much to this recipe, but it can be a little tricky to get the quantities right.  Lots of authentic recipes call for 100 proof grain alcohol or Vodka, but you can't get alcohol this strong commercially in Australia.  So if you don't know a bootleg distiller who is willing to pour off a batch of houch, then you are left with only two options.  Buy the bottled product sold at all good bottle shops, generally imported and ready to drink, or find yourself a bottle of Vodka strong enough to put you in hospital and follow these instructions.  (Medical alert: the alcohol content is cut down significantly through mixing, as to avoid having to get you stomach pumped)

Ingredients 

8 fresh lemons (washed well)

Vodka (500ml of very strong stuff >70%, or about 750ml of regular vodka (40%)

Sugar - see quantity guide below

Hot water - see quantity guide below

Method

You start by peeling about 8 lemons, use a vegetable peeler and take off just the yellow skin.  Avoid the whit pith as this will make your Limincello bitter.  

Add the lemon peelings to a clean glass jar or bottle and pour over your Vodka.  If you have very strong vodka, you will only need half as much than if you are using standard strength stuff.

Seal jar and let the mixture steep for about a month in the far reaches of space (aka the pantry).

The lemon peels will start to leach all of their colour and oils into the alcohol after about a week.  Give the mixture a little shake every week or so.

This is the mixture after 5 weeks:

The next bit is essential for giving your mixture the sweetness required but it also dilutes the alcohol content significantly.

If you have strong vodka (over 70%) use these quantities:

500gm hot water

300gm caster sugar

If you are using commercial vodka (40%) use these quantities:

100gm hot water

150gm caster sugar

Mix the water and sugar together in the TM bowl on speed 3, 80degrees, for 2 minutes or u til dissolved.

Pour off the Limincello from your lemon peels, add it to the TM bowl with your sugar syrup and mix on speed 2 for 10 seconds.

Your mixture will be cloudy because of the heat in your syrup, but it won't effect the flavour.

Pour the mixture through coffee filter into bottles and store in your freezer forever!

Serve it chilled or over ice, or use it  to make a Lemon Lime & Bitters, like I have!

This is easy, to a glass of ice, add a shot of Limincello, a dash of bitters, a slice of lime.  Top with lemonade or soda water.

Chocolate & Raspberry Spider

Today's cocktail comes courtesy of a marvellous little blunder.  Having realised that I've run out of Vodka (eeeeek) I sent Mr Thermomix Me A Drink to the store to stock up.  In his all seeing wisdom, he elected to shake things up a little and grabbed the first bottle that looked right.  It was wrong! Instead of Vodka, he grabbed Whipped Cream Vodka.  Now I'm not one to nag (except on days that end in "y") so I've made the best of it.  And please don't tell him, but I actually think he got it spot on!

This week, I've been searching for inspiration and I stumbled across a recipe from www.maebells.com for raspberry red wine slushies with chocolate cream.  I'm not a red wine drinker, but I am a vodka fan and I'm also a big fan of raspberries and chocolate, so I've tweaked it a little and present you with my Chocolate & Raspberry Spider.

As well as vodka, I've used Chambord which is a Black Raspberry Liquer, seriously delicious.  I've also used a splash of chocolate Baileys and the combination tastes like heaven, not at all alcoholic.  You could omit all of the alcohol if you wanted and this would still be devine.

Ingredients 

Serves 2

60gm Chambord

60gm Whipped cream Vodka

150gm frozen raspberries

300gm ice

60gm lemonade

For the chocolate cream

125gm Cream

1 teaspoon caster sugar

1tablespoon chocolate powder or cocoa ( I used the YIAH Raspberry chocolate powder)

30gm Chocolate Baileys

Method

Add raspberries and lemonade to your TM bowl, blitz on speed 7 for 30 second.

Push the mixture through a fine seive to remove the seeds and set aside in the freezer.

Scrape as much of the seeds out of your bowl but do not rinse, this way you can flavour the cream slightly with raspberry.

Insert your butterfly and add cream, sugar and chocolate powder to your bowl.

Whip for 20-40 seconds on speed 3 until thick.

Add baileys to the cream and whip another 5 seconds to combine, speed 2.

Transfer chocolate cream to a bowl and set aside.

Rinse your bowl.

Add ice, vodka, Chambord and raspberry mixture to your bowl.

Blend on speed 10 for 20-30 seconds, until it resembles a slushie.

Pour into a milkshake glass that has been drizzled with chocolate sauce, top with chocolate cream and garnish with a raspberry.

TGIF Margaritas

Thank God it's Frozen Maragaritas!

As I may have eluded to on Facebook a few weeks ago, February 22nd is a special day for me and many others. It is a celebration of all that is good in the world.  It is International Margarita Day.  Where we pause not for a minute's silence but a whole happy hour. Where we reward our hard earned thirsts with a frozen tequila slushie and say to hell with the calories. The day that screams to the world "It's 5 o'clock somewhere!"

Now I'm going to ease you in gently because I know that not everyone has a positive relationship with Tequila. Granted Tequila and I have had our differences, but now that I have learned to steer clear of cute bartenders and body shots, I think we have a mutual respect.

This recipe is for a Classic Margarita. One you can enjoy while shaving your legs and bitching about your boyfriend.

Ingredients 

Serves 2

3 shots Tequila (the good shit)

1.5 shots Triple Sec (or Cointreau if you've got money)

500gms Ice

Juice of 2 lemons

1 tsp Coconut Sugar 

Method

Add Ice, Tequila and Triple Sec to the TM bowl. 

Mix on speed 10 for 20 seconds.

Add lemon juice and coconut sugar.

Mix on speed 6 for 10 seconds.

Rim your fancy margarita glass with lemon juice and salt.

Stay tuned for the next instalment.