A favorite cocktail in our house this summer involves market strawberries muddled with mint or basil, a few healthy squeezes of lime juice, and copious amounts of gin, often topped up with a little tonic water or club soda. While enjoying one of these beverages after a long day of summer, and while staring at the mountains of strawberries in the fridge, inspiration struck for the perfect hot afternoon refresher. Since a gimlet is all about the gin and lime, I boost the flavor of gin with a few crushed juniper berries, and include the zest as well as the juice of the limes.
Strawberry Gimlet Sorbet
- 4 cups strawberries, hulled and halved
- 2 limes
- 3-5 whole juniper berries
- 2 shots of gin (2 1/2 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Puree strawberries in a blender or food processor. Grate the zest of the limes into sugar in large bowl. Smash the juniper berries, and toss them in with the sugar. Juice both limes, and add with a shot of gin, and whisk until completely dissolved. Add puree and chill until very cold, 1-2 hours or overnight. Pick out the juniper berries and freeze in electric ice cream maker 20 min, then add the second shot of gin and continue to churn another 10 minutes or until stiff soft serve consistency. Transfer to container and freeze in freezer until firm.
What’s a malasada, you ask? Oh, let me tell you. A malasada is a kind of Portuguese donut–since it’s Portuguese, it’s amazingly rich with egg yolks and butter–that I’ve routinely overindulged in to the point of illness since I was 6 years old. Malasadas are a local favorite in Honolulu and, not to brag, but my high school’s recipe is legendary. Every February, the school puts on the Punahou Carnival and the fist-sized malasadas are sold by the thousands at the impressive price of 50₵ per donut. The Carnival supplies the scholarship fund for the school, so it isn’t much of an exaggeration to say that my education was sponsored by these rich, soft, sugary treats.
I mentioned a milestone a while back, and as promised, here comes the first of a string of event-based recipes. Here’s the deal–I’m getting married! We’re deep into the planning stage, and my mind is a flood of hors d’oeuvres, cocktail recipes, and other nice little yummy touches to make the guests feel welcome and make the day a memorable one for all.
As far as I’m concerned, a malasada means festivity and special occasion indulgence. So, I’m excited about this little beverage as a welcome-to-the-party/good-morning-sunshine for the bridal party. High quality Kona coffee is a hard thing to beat. Spiked with a bit of Kahlua or maybe some Bailey’s Irish Cream it’s a great way to begin a day of celebration. Garnished with miniature malasadas, could there be anything better?
So now I have a favor to ask you. We’re entered in a contest to win $100,000 for our dream wedding, of which these mini malasadas are a small (& essential) piece. We need you to vote!! The final round is decided by number of votes then after that it’s up to the judges, but we need your help to get there. Pretty please???
I’ll make you a dozen malasadas each if we make it to the finals–Promise!
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