Make a Warming Cider Punch
Difficulty level Easy
YIELD Serves 8 to 10
New Year's Day has long been a traditional day for open houses in Canada. It's normally a informal gathering of family, friends, and neighbours in the afternoon or early evening. You serve little cakes and cookies, and the house is filled with the welcoming smell of mulled cider. I don't know if it comes from our Scottish forbears and their tradition of Hogmanay or our French forbears and the tradition of the Levee-perhaps a bit of both-but it's a very nice thing to do.
You can think about serving this cider on cold afternoons after skating or skiing, as well. Feel free to add or subtract things from this recipe. You don't need the cup of water and cup of sugar, but Chef Michael Smith suggests that it gives a bigger flavour base for the cider. And don't forget to make a batch without the wine for the kiddies.
INGREDIENTS
| 1 cup | water |
| 2 cup | sugar or brown sugar |
| 2 litres | fresh cider or apple juice |
| 1 | orange |
| 24 | whole cloves |
| 4‑5 | cinnamon sticks of 1 tbsp ground cinnamon |
| 3 or 4 | bay leaves |
| 2 or 3 | branches rosemary or 1 tbsp dried |
| 6 or 8 | star anise pods |
| 2 or 3 | vanilla beans or a big splash of vanilla extract |
| 1 bottle | of any wine, white, red or sparkling |
| An optional bottle of your favourite spirit, liqueur or rum | |
PREPARATION:
- Pour the water into a medium sized sauce part large enough to hold the cider and wine. Sprinkle the sugar over the water and begin heating over medium high heat. The sugar mixture will form an even syrup and come to a boil. Continue simmering as the water boils away, and don't stir or shake the pot.
- When the syrup begins to colour around the edges, gently swirl the pot until the resulting caramel is a beautiful golden brown. Working quickly, add the cider to "shock" the caramel, to prevent it from further browning. It will spatter, so be careful.
- Alternatively you may skip the carmelization process and simply add brown sugar to the
cider. Either way, bring the entire mixture to a simmer. - Spike the orange with the cloves and add to the cider. Add the remaining spices and vanilla then continue simmering for 20 minutes or so.
- Add the wine, bring the mixture back to a simmer and serve immediately.
- You can add a shot of your favourite liquor to the mug if you desire.
You can add a shot of your favourite liquor to the mug if you desire.
From Chef Michael Smith from the December 26, 2007 issue of The Globe and Mail
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