Second Helping: Strawberry Grapes Cocktail with Juniper Berries and Mint

It was a sunny and lazy Sunday.  All needed to add charm to my backyard BBQ was a fresh cocktail with no alcohol. Last time I was in that mood I tried a virgin mojito in a local tapas bar. The mix of sugary soda and mint didn't please me, so I decided to create my own. Here it is.  I shared the drink later on our playdate and the kids and moms loved it.  Cheers!

Strawberry and Grapes Cocktail

With some not so fresh strawberries and grapes, I prepared a syrup-like compote, simmering the fruits with orange juice. I used the mix as a base for the cocktail. If you are willing to try an alcoholic variation you can add some gin or limoncello.

2 tablespoons Strawberry and Grapes Compote (recipe below)
1/2 cup sparkling mineral water with lime
1/4 cup apple juice (optional)
4 leaves fresh mint, chopped
Ice (optional)

Add all ingredients, stir slowly and add fresh chopped mint on the top.

Strawberry and Grapes Compote

1 cup whole strawberries
1 cup seedless red grapes
1 cup fresh orange juice
5 or 6 juniper berries, dried

Simmer all for about 30 minutes or until the fruits are smooth. Refrigerate and reserve for the drink.

Second Helping: Lavender and Chamomile Ganache

The simplest way to flavor ganache, as in yesterday's post on rose ganache, is to stir in extract, spices, or zest.

Another way is to steep herbs in the cream for delicate, unusual flavors. It isn't much more work, though it takes a little more time. Gather fresh herbs and add them to the heated cream, making sure they're completely immersed. Cover the pan and let it sit for up to half an hour, strain, and reheat the cream to finish the ganache.

Lavender ganache added a lovely touch to chocolate birthday cupcakes, topped with a generous helping of vanilla bean icing (hello, new favorite cupcake!).

The leftover ganache went into the fridge to firm up while I made batch of ganache with apple-scented chamomile flowers and lemon verbena, this time with white chocolate. Both were rolled into truffles, along with the leftover rose ganache, and tucked into gift boxes.

 For more tips on making and using ganache, check out yesterday's post. If you have a favorite flavoring for ganache, I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

Lavender Ganache

Be sure to use culinary lavender, preferably organic. Lavender from a florist or picked off your neighbor's plant may be treated with chemicals that aren't approved for edible crops.

This technique works with any fresh herbs -- mint is an obvious choice.

8 ounces heavy cream
12 ounces high-quality chocolate in small pieces -- chopped, chips, chunks
a few sprigs of flowering lavender

Put chocolate pieces in a bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat cream until just shy of boiling. Immerse lavender sprigs, cover saucepan, and turn off heat. Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes, tasting to check the strength of the lavender flavor. Be conservative -- you don't want this to taste like potpourri. When it's to your liking, pour the cream through a fine-mesh sieve (you may need to do this twice) and discard the lavender.

Return cream to saucepan and again heat until almost boiling. Carefully pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until smooth. Alternatively, pour hot cream over chocolate pieces in food processor.

Chamomile and Lemon Verbena Ganache: Substitute chamomile blossoms and sprigs of lemon verbena for the lavender, and use white chocolate.

Second Helping: Rose Ganache

Ganache is my Swiss army knife of desserts. It's incredibly versatile, as well as easy and elegant: A single batch can be rolled into truffles, poured to glaze a cake, warmed for chocolate fondue, stirred into milk, and much, much more. And then there's just plain eating it off a spoon. The stuff is magic, on the level of unicorns and a cup of coffee that never goes cold.

I turned to ganache a few weeks back when I realized just how much baking I had planned -- for birthday celebrations, thank-you gifts, a school function, and a craving for something indulgent. Spring fever inspired me to try floral notes, including rosewater, lavender, and chamomile. Today I'll share the recipe for Rose Ganache; tune in tomorrow for the other two.

My ganache recipe is very simple: three parts high-quality chocolate to two parts heavy cream, plus any flavoring. This yields a somewhat thick but adaptable ganache. It can be spread on cupcakes or piped onto treats, or refrigerated and rolled into truffles. It also can be thinned with additional cream for glazing a cake. If I plan to make only truffles, I use a 2:1 ratio of chocolate to cream. It isn't an exact science; some recipes call for a 1:1 ratio, others incorporate a bit of butter.

The cream is warmed, then poured over the chocolate. The two are gently stirred together to create a rich, to-die-for emulsion. The finished ganache lasts a few weeks in the refrigerator -- if you can resist the temptation to eat it all -- and freezes well for a few months.

The simplest way to flavor ganache is to stir in flavorings such as spices, extract, citrus zest. The technique is detailed in the basic recipe for Rose Ganache below; tomorrow I'll share a wonderful way to infuse ganache with flavor.

I rolled some of the rose ganache into truffles, but most of it was whipped and piped over rosewater marshmallows, an easy variation on Orange, Chocolate & Pistachio Marshmallows.

A few ways to enjoy ganache:

• Refrigerate until firm, form into small balls and roll in cocoa powder or cover with tempered chocolate to make truffles.
• Warm ganache, thin with cream, and use to glaze cake.
• Use as filling with layered cake, cookie sandwiches, crepes, brioche, lava cake, and more.
• Stir into milk, warm or cold.
• Pour over ice cream.
• Whip for a few minutes and use as frosting.
• Serve warm with fruit or cubes of cake for chocolate fondue.

Rose Ganache

You can find rosewater in Indian and Mideastern markets, as well as some specialty food shops.

8 ounces heavy cream
12 ounces high-quality chocolate in small pieces -- chopped, chips, chunks
1 tablespoon rosewater, or more to taste

Put chocolate pieces in a bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat cream until just shy of boiling. Stir in rosewater to taste. Slowly and carefully, pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir. Don't whisk it -- you're just blending the two together, stirring until smooth. Alternatively, you could put the chocolate pieces in the work bowl of a food processor and pour in the cream while running the food processor. Store ganache in a covered container for up to two weeks.

Variations: Instead of rosewater, substitute a teaspoon or two of extract or liqueur, or spices or citrus zest.