Red Fruit Cocktail with Champagne

By corlear

Le Cocktail de Fruits Rouges au Champagne

Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking: 5 minutes
Ease: Easy
Cost: Expensife

Ingredients

• 1/2 pint (200 g) strawberries
• 1/2 pint (200 g) wild strawberries
• 1/2 pint (200 g) raspberries
• 1/2 pint (200 g) red currants
• 3/4 cup (170 g) sugar
• 1/2 bottle champagne, well chilled

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

Several hours in advance: Wash the strawberries in a strainer under cold water, dry and hull them. Do not wash the wild strawberries (they are too fragile and become mushy), or the raspberries (they absorb too much water and lose their flavor). Place each fruit on a separate plate.

Wash the red currants, dry them, and pick them off the stems. Set half aside on a plate. In a small saucepan, heat the other half of the red currants with 2 tablespoons water and 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar. At the first boil, remove pan from heat and set aside to cool. Transfer the currants to a bowl lined with a few layers of cheesecloth. Lift up the edges of the cheesecloth and gather the sides together to form a pouch, then turn the pouch to squeeze out the juice from the currants into the bowl.

Place the remaining sugar on a plate. Dip the rims of 6 glasses into the red-currant syrup, shake off any excess syrup, then set the moistened rims in the sugar to adhere and decorate.

Being careful not to touch the sugared rims, fill the glasses two-thirds full with the assorted fruit. Divide the red-currant syrup among the glasses, pouring it over the fruit.

Just before serving: Place the glasses on small dessert plates. Bring the glasses to the table. At this moment, and not before, fill the glasses with champagne to 1/2 inch (1 cm) from the rim. A beautiful pink foam from th champagne and berries will rise to crown the glasses.

Improvise! All the fruits can be interchanged with black currants, blueberries, or other fruits of choice, You can even use only one type of fruit, except for the red currants which, by themselves, would make the cocktail too acidic. On the other hand, if you completely omit the red currants the cocktail will be too sweet, in which case you can make up for the lost acidity with the juice of half a lemon.

Presentation suestjon: With scissors, cut from the edge to the center of 6 small paper doilies. Place the doilies around the foot of each glass and slip a small flower into each slit.