When my girls were young, we would always make our annual visit to Plant World to see what fantastical Christmas decorations they had in store and without fail they always had a giant coffee urn filled with hot apple cider. Somehow this made the visit more magical and I always wondered if it was the real reason we kept going back year after year. I was obsessed with this cider so much so that I made it my mission to create a great-tasting Mulled Apple Cider that would match theirs and after many, many attempts, I got it! We no longer had to wait until Christmas to enjoy this hot apple bliss! Now as the air gets crisp and the leaves begin to change colour, my family's first request of the season is Mulled Apple Cider.
Unfiltered Fresh Apple Cider – This is crucial, you cannot use form concentrate, filtered apple juice.
Cranberry Cocktail - The cranberry gives this drink just enough tang to balance the sweetness and spice. I have tried 100% cranberry juice and enjoyed it but it definitely makes the end result quite tart.
Whole Spices – Whole spices work best so you don’t end up with too much powder at the bottom of your drink. Even with a fine sieve, it is difficult to strain it away. If you can break a ¼ piece of your nutmeg off, then you can use that instead of ground nutmeg.
Fresh Ginger – I always have fresh ginger on hand so that is what I use, but a tablespoon of candied ginger would work as well.
Orange – Keep the rind on when cutting into quarters, you want the flavour from the entire orange.
Mulled Apple Cider
Ingredients
3 litres of fresh unfiltered fresh apple cider
1 bottle (1.89 litres) of cranberry cocktail
4 sticks of cinnamon
12 whole cloves
20 allspice berries
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ inch piece fresh ginger
1 orange cut into quarters
Instructions
1. On medium heat pour apple cider and cranberry cocktail into a large soup pot.
2. Add cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, ginger and orange
3. Once everything comes to a boil, reduce heat and let just barely simmer with lid slightly askew for 30-40 minutes.
4. Turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Strain with a fine sieve either before serving or storing in the fridge.
Enjoy!
*Tips*
- Mulled cider can be severed hot or cold
- I store mine in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and reheat individual servings as desired.
- Alcohol, like rum, whiskey or bourbon, can be added to a hot cup of cider for those extra cold nights or as pictured on Instagram, you can turn this Mulled Apple Cider into a martini.
Mulled Apple Cider Martini
Ingredients
½ cup room temperature Mulled Apple Cider
½ shot of Vodka
½ shot of Butter Ripple Schnapps
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 cinnamon stick
Instructions
1. Mix sugar and cinnamon together onto a plate.
2. Juice lemon and strain with a fine sieve onto a plate.
3. Dip the rim of the glass into the lemon juice and gently shake off excess, then immediately dip into cinnamon sugar.
4. Pour in Mulled Cider, Vodka, Butter Ripple Schnapps and stir with a cinnamon stick.
Enjoy!
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