By Fiona McLaren
I recently infused some brandy with star anise and cinnamon (the infusing only takes 24 hours with such aromatic ingredients and requires no particular skill — just a little imagination).
I wanted to make some eggnog drinks and rather than add the spices to the beverage, I wanted the flavours to come through the brandy. For fun, we used little Easter bunnies as our "glassware". This led to thinking about what else would go well in our bunnies, so we created some iced coffee and "naughty" smoothie ideas in larger rabbits.
I have also been experimenting with different flavoured kombucha drinks and found the passionfruit and lemonade kombucha teamed well with fresh juice mixes for a refreshing burst of flavour any time of the day. (I personally find kombucha pleasant to drink, but lacking a little in substance, which is why I wanted to create a fairly heavy juice to balance flavour and "texture".) The bubbly kombucha offers a lift to the drink. Individually, neither drink really excited me, but together they were so well suited and deliciously complementary.
To celebrate the time of year, I also wanted to showcase the beautiful black doris plums that are abundant now. The colour is only rivalled by the taste and the tart sweetness goes well with many flavour combinations.
Infused brandy
From all the recipes we sampled, this one was definitely a universal pleaser.
250ml brandy
2 cinnamon quills
2 star anise
Method
Place ingredients together in a glass bottle or jar with a lid.
Leave to steep for 24 hours, then strain through a fine sieve. (Leaving the spices in too long will make the brandy bitter.)
The brandy will keep for as long as you can refrain from drinking it!
It is also lovely to use in apple crumbles or baked stonefruit dishes.
Oh Doris!
black doris plums, stone removed, cut in half
2-4 fresh basil leaves
1 lime cut into four wedges
ice
30ml Southern Comfort
15ml amaretto
cranberry juice
Method
Muddle the fleshy "cheeks" of a black doris plum with 2-4 fresh basil leaves and two lime wedges.
Add ice, then pour over Southern Comfort and amaretto.
Top with cranberry juice.
Be sure to stir the drink well before serving to intensify the colour and mix of the flavours.
Cottontail kombucha
1 carrot
1 green apple
1 orange
½ lemon
kombucha
Method
Blend in a Nutri Bullet with one cup of ice and water.
Fill your glass with ice and half fill with the juice mix.
Top with kombucha (my favourite flavour is passionfruit/lemonade).
Brandy eggnog bunny
90ml pouring cream
90ml full fat milk
1 egg
60ml infused brandy
dash of vanilla paste
Optional: 1 tsp sugar (not necessary if you are serving the drinks in the bunnies!)
Method
Put all ingredients in a shaker and shake.
Pour into a small chocolate bunny or glass.
Take a large chocolate bunny and use a sharp, heated knife to cleanly cut the tops off of its ears.
Classic iced coffee
double shot espresso coffee sweetened with one sugar (to taste, mix sugar in while coffee is hot)
To serve
whipped cream
coffee beans
choc sprinkles
Method
Fill "glass" with ice and drizzle with chocolate sauce.
Top with milk of your choice. Add whipped cream, coffee beans and choc sprinkles.
Pink Bunny
1 cup of ice (use the glassware you are serving it in as a rule — bunnies are a "best guess" measure!)
30ml white chocolate liqueur
15ml strawberry liqueur
12 blueberries
6 raspberries
90ml milk
To serve
whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles
Method
Combines all ingredients in a blender.
Blend until smooth consistency, top with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.
