New Year’s Eve is upon us again. It feels like we just celebrated last New Year and now tomorrow it will already be Year 2015! Amazing how time flies! In a good way, might I add. A lot of things happened during 2014 – a proper mix of good and not-so-good things, but there’s something about the New Year that makes me look forward to it with happiness and joy. And with champagne!
Champagne is must on New Year’s Eve and/or New Year’s Day. That’s just the way it is. No doubt, no questions! This year I thought to mix seasonal favorite fruits – clementines – with a little bit of bubbly for this New Year’s Eve champagne cocktail.
You can prepare Candied Clementine Peels and Clementine Syrup hours and even days before. Just store them in the fridge until you want to make the Clementine Champagne Cocktail. Super easy! And if you are anything like me you will have clementines laying around after Christmas and champagne on ice just waiting for when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Clementine Champagne Cocktail
Makes: 4 Cocktails
Total Preparation time: 1h 30min (+ cooling time) unless Candied Clementine Peels and Clementine Syrup have been prepared beforehand.
Ingredients:
4 Clementines
1 1/2 cups Caster Sugar
2 cups Water
Champagne
Directions:
Prepare the Candied Clementine Peel:
(Can be prepared beforehand)
Using a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife cut out long strips of clementine peel from 2 clementines. Place the strips into a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Over medium heat bring the clementine strips to boil. Once the water starts to boil, drain the clementine peels. Transfer the peels back into the saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to boil again over medium heat. Drain and repeat one more time (making the total boiling times three). In a clean medium saucepan mix 1/2 cups of caster sugar and 1 cup of water. Stirring occasionally bring to boil over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved – around 5 minutes. Add the clementine strips into the boiling sugar syrup. Reduce the heat and simmer until the clementine strips are translucent – around 15 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let the clementine strips cool down in the syrup for at least 1 hour. Remove and dry the strips before use.
Prepare the Clementine Syrup:
(Can be prepared beforehand)Peel and separate the clementine segments. With scissors cut each clementine segment into 3-4 pieces over a medium saucepan. Add 1 cup of caster sugar and 1 cup of cold water. Over medium heat bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer around 5-10 minutes until the clementine pieces start to soften and lose their structure. With a masher squash the clementine pieces, so that all the juice mixes with the sugar-water. Continue to simmer for another 20 minutes or until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture starts to look syrupy. Strain the syrup through a sieve making sure that all the liquid is gathered from the clementine pulp. Let the syrup cool down.
Prepare the Clementine Champagne Cocktails:
Place several Candied Clementine Peel strips on the bottom of a champagne glass. Measure 3 tbsp Clementine Syrup into a champagne glass. Top with Champagne. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 Cocktails
Ingredients
- 4 Clementines
- 1 1/2 cups Caster Sugar
- 2 cups Water
- Champagne
Instructions
- Prepare the Candied Clementine Peel. (Can be prepared beforehand)
- Using a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife cut out long strips of clementine peel from 2 clementines. Place the strips into a medium saucepan and cover with cold water.
- Over medium heat bring the clementine strips to boil.
- Once the water starts to boil, drain the clementine peels.
- Transfer the peels back into the saucepan and cover with cold water.
- Bring to boil again over medium heat.
- Drain and repeat one more time (making the total boiling times three).
- In a clean medium saucepan mix 1/2 cups of caster sugar and 1 cup of water.
- Stirring occasionally bring to boil over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved – around 5 minutes.
- Add the clementine strips into the boiling sugar syrup.
- Reduce the heat and simmer until the clementine strips are translucent – around 15 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let the clementine strips cool down in the syrup for at least 1 hour.
- Remove and dry the strips before use.
- Prepare the Clementine Syrup. (Can be prepared beforehand)
- Peel and separate the clementine segments.
- With scissors cut each clementine segment into 3-4 pieces over a medium saucepan.
- Add 1 cup of caster sugar and 1 cup of cold water.
- Over medium heat bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer around 5-10 minutes until the clementine pieces start to soften and lose their structure.
- With a masher squash the clementine pieces, so that all the juice mixes with the sugar-water. Continue to simmer for another 20 minutes or until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture starts to look syrupy.
- Strain the syrup through a sieve making sure that all the liquid is gathered from the clementine pulp. Let the syrup cool down.
- Prepare the Clementine Champagne Cocktails.
- Place several Candied Clementine Peel strips on the bottom of a champagne glass.
- Measure 3 tbsp Clementine Syrup into a champagne glass.
- Top with Champagne.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Total Preparation time: 1h 30min (+ cooling time) unless Candied Clementine Peels and Clementine Syrup have been prepared beforehand.
3.0http://www.fashionaddictedfoodies.com/2014/12/31/clementine-champagne-cocktail/