No-Booze Sangria

It's warming up in sunny Southern California! It's time to chase torridity away with an array of ice-cold thirst quenchers. This weekend's weapon against the swelter was a splashy pitcher of virgin sangria. Even before tasting, the kaleidoscope of fruit slices dancing on the surface was refreshing for the eye. From my first mint-infused sip, I was compelled to spend the rest of my afternoon in complete laziness as I savored this fruity relief from the fierce temperature. As beautiful as it is refreshing, this simple recipe is ideal for transforming a flat afternoon into a vibrant affair.

..............................

Ingredients:

3.5 cups gingerale, chilled

1.5 cups orange juice

10 strawberries, quartered

.5 lemon sliced, halved

.5 lime sliced, halved

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

.5 cup fresh mint leaves

..............................

1. In a saucepan, make a simple syrup by combining 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water and mint leaves over medium heat. Bring the water to a boil stirring occasionally. Boil for 5 minutes allowing all the sugar to dissolve completely. Turn off the heat and allow the syrup to cool for about twenty minutes. Strain and set aside.

2. In a glass pitcher , combine orange juice, strawberries, lemons, limes, and about three-quarters of the mint syrup. Wait to add the ginger ale until you are ready to serve so that you do not lose the carbonation. Once you've added the gingerale, check the mixture for sweetness. If the sangria is not sweet enough, add the rest of the mint syrup. Serve over ice.

.............................

Note: For a really spectacular presentation, sugar the rim by dipping the the glass in about 1/8 inch of water and then in sugar.

Lemon Dreamcakes

Folks will stand in line for these little beauties. A moist limoncello cupcake with lemon curd-whipped cream topped with a candied lemon slice. I'm not sure if you got that, but to me it sounded like lemon, Lemon, LEMON!! I'm always disappointed when a lemon dessert doesn't pack a sweet punch. These leave nothing to be desired. They take a little patience, but are well worth the effort.

My idea started with a recipe I found at Allrecipes.com (My favorite site for recipe ideas). I had some limoncello in the fridge that was begging to be used. Also, I had been toying with the idea of a honey-soaked cake after a co-worker brought pictures of one of her latest experiments. Then it hit me!! I decided to candy lemon slices and soak the cupcake in the left over syrup instead of honey. Not only would it greatly improve the moistness of the cake, but the slices would make excellent finishing touches. My wife is a huge fan of using whipped cream for frosting, but to take it a step further, I would fold a little lemon curd into the cream to make sure there was plenty of lemon flavor. The result was one of the best cupcakes I've ever made and this is how I did it...

Candied Lemon Slices

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

About 4 lemons

Directions

1. Using a very sharp knife, slice lemons about 1/8 of inch thick.

2. Bring a pot a water to a roiling boil and add the slices

3. Allow to boil for one minute. Then remove the lemons and plunge them in ice water

4. Add the cups of water and sugar to a sauce pan and bring to a boil, allowing the sugar to dissolve completely.

6. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, turn the heat down to medium-high and arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the pan.

7. Let simmer for one hour. The slices will shrink and turn a transparent amber color.

8. Remove candied slices from the pan and place on parchment paper to dry. Set the pan of syrup aside.

Cupcake

1 cup plain yogurt

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp lemon zest

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup limoncello liqueur

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake tins with cupcake liners

2. Whisk together the yogurt, egg, vegetable oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and 1/4 cups limoncello in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir the dry ingredients in the wet. Do not over mix or the cake will be tough. Pour the batter into the cupcake tins filling each space about 2/3 of the way.

3. Bake about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

4. With a knife, make two deep perpendicular slices into each cake.

5. Spoon syrup from candied lemon slices into each whole. Allowing the syrup to sink into the cake. Repeat 3 or 4 times waiting each time for the syrup to be absorbed by the cake.

6. Set cupcakes aside.

Whipped Cream

1 quart heavy cream

powdered sugar (to taste)

lemon curd

directions

1. Pour cream into mixing bowl and stir in powdered sugar to taste. Set the bowl in the freezer until the cream begins to thicken around the edges.

2. Then remove the bowl from the freezer and whip with an electric mixer until the cream is very think.

3. Add a small portion on the lemon curd to the cream and fold in. You can continue to add curd until the creams starts to loose it's stiffness.

Assemble the cupcakes by using a spoon to pile the cream on top of the soaked cupcake. Garnish with a candied lemon slice and serve.