Classic Cocktail Recipes: Cosmopolitan

The taste of a classic Cosmopolitan cocktail brings back many memories (some good and maybe some not so good) for most people. Here's one of our favourite recipes on how to make this classic crowd-pleasing cocktail... 

Image from www.liquor.com

Ingredients:

• Crushed ice, to serve
• 2 shots (60ml) vodka
• 1 shot (30ml) Cointreau
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/2 cup (125ml) cranberry juice

Shake ingredients in the stylish Gentlemen's Hardware Cocktail Shaker

Method:

1. Place crushed ice in a martini glass
2. In a cocktail shaker, shake vodka, Cointreau, lime and cranberry juice to combine. 
3. Strain contents into the martini glass with ice
3. Serve and enjoy immediately

Serving tip: Garnish with a wedge of lime on the side of glass, a curly shaving of orange rind (placed over the glass rim), or a sprig of mint. 

Recipe of the Week: Lemon Delicious

This recipe is a family favourite, passed on from my grandma to my mum, and now to me:) It's a great 'winter warmer' recipe, and also really good if you have a lemon tree and a glut of lemons you need to use up.

Ingredients:

• 60g butter
• 2 lemons - juiced and zest grated
• 1 caster sugar
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 35g self-raising flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Icecream or cream to serve

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius and butter 6 small or 4 large ramekins

2. Cream butter, sugar and lemon zest. Add egg yokes and vanilla extract

3. Mix flour and milk into creamed mixture until batter is smooth

4. Stir lemon juice into batter

5. Whisk egg whites in a separate bowl until they form stiff peaks

6. Fold egg whites into the batter (the egg whites are the secret to keeping the Lemon Delicious light and fluffy). Pour mixture into ramekins.

7. Pop ramekins in a baking tray and fill with water (halfway up the sides of the ramekins).

8. Bake for 25 mins.

Image from www.urbanspoon.com

Chef's Tip: I like to bake my Lemon Delicious in ceramic ramekins (like the ones in the pic above), but I usually invert them onto a plate or bowl and let the yummy lemon custard run down the sides of the fluffy sponge underneath. Serve with icecream or cream.