This July 4th put everyone in a festive mood with food and drink that fit the red, white and blue color palette. Hot dogs and hamburgers on the barbecue and plenty of cold salads are fine, but start with a colorful cocktail and end with a holiday themed dessert. You’ll need to pick up some bright and beautiful fruit, specifically grapes, raspberries and blueberries. Fireworks, optional.
This Summer chiller is courtesy of Skyy which has a new line of fruit flavored infused vodka.
Yankee Doodle
1 oz SKYY Infusions Grape Vodka (or vodka of your choice)
1 tsp raw sugar
4 slices of fresh peeled ginger
5 large green grapes
Soda water
Raspberries and blueberries, to garish
Muddle grapes, ginger, and sugar in pint glass. Add ice and SKYY Infusions Grape Vodka. Shake vigorously and strain into cocktail glass over fresh ice. Top with soda and garnish with raspberries & blueberries.
Red, White, and Blueberry Cupcakes
Makes 12 regular cupcakes
Cupcake Making 20 minutes
Cupcake Baking 350 degrees F., for about 25 minutes
Cupcakes
1/3 cup fresh blueberries
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup fresh raspberries
Topping
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/3 cup fresh blueberries
Make the cupcakes. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.
Put the blueberries in a small bowl and stir them gently with 1 tablespoon of the flour; set aside. Sift the remaining 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons flour, the baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Beat in the egg whites in 2 additions, mixing until smoothly blended. Add the vanilla and almond extract and beat for 2 minutes. The batter should look smooth but foamy. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture mixing just to incorporate it. Mix in the milk. Mix in the remaining flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the blueberries and raspberries into the batter.
Fill each paper liner with 1/4 cup of batter, to about 1/2 inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.
Carefully place the wire rack on top of the cupcakes in their pan. Protecting your hands with pot holders and holding the pan and rack together, invert them to release the cupcakes onto the wire rack. Turn the cupcakes top side up to cool completely.
Make the topping. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until firm peaks form.
Using a thin metal spatula, spread a generous 3 tablespoons of whipped cream evenly over the top of each cupcake. Gently spoon several raspberries and blueberries over the whipped cream. Refrigerate and serve cold.
The cupcakes can be refrigerated overnight.
Recipe from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans, Chronicle Books
——-Amy Sherman
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