Sweet Summer Birthday, Part 1

Forgive me for not posting with any frequency or regularity….It feels like it’s been ages since I last posted anything of substance. I’m not gone. Just have taken a bit of a breather. My computer’s been acting up, I’ve been insanely busy, and August has proven to be a crazy month full of celebrations. But, I’m back!

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So many people I know have birthdays in August. I hate to pull such attention to myself, but it’s now been almost 2 weeks since my birthday, and I’m dying to share my celebrations. I’ve been attempting to post this almost every day since…but, finally, it’s here.

Contrary to many, I am actually excited that I’ve turned a year older, a year wiser. This year I’m celebrating my life full of family and friends (old and new), of baking and eating, of growing and learning, and for all of the excitement and mystery that is to come with this next year.

I wish I could have invited you all over for the celebration, but my tiny apartment isn’t such a gracious host when she has a crowd. A few friends and my younger sister did, however, visit me from Pennsylvania for a sweet weekend. When assuming the hostess role, I love to treat my guests well. So to begin, I wanted to greet their much anticipated arrival with an exciting, bold beverage….a Blood Orange Basil Cocktail. In addition to many love for baking, I also have a fondness for creating drinks that incorporate fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables or herbs and spice infusions.

This Blood Orange Basil Cocktail was quite simple to prepare: I started with a blood orange cordial I had made a little earlier when blood oranges were at their peak. I then muddled the cordial, lemon juice and basil together, added vodka that had been infused with a few strips of blood orange rind, topped with club soda and poured into martini or Champagne glasses (I know, I know, but what else is a girl to do when she's limited in glassware selection?). Had I thought of the idea for this drink earlier, I probably would have just infused the cordial with basil, too. However, it was delicious just as concocted.

my sister sipping her cocktail

Blood Orange Basil Cocktail
Dramatic and full of flavor, basil adds a surprisingly lush savory element as well. This cocktail is as interesting on the last sip as it is on the first.

Makes 1 cocktail

1 ounce blood orange cordial (recipe below)
Juice of ½ lemon
2-3 basil leaves
3 ounces vodka (I used my blood orange infused vodka)
club soda

Place the cordial, lemon juice and basil leaves into a glass. Using a wooden muddler or back of a spoon, crush the ingredients against the sides and bottom. Muddle well to release the basil essence and flavor. Add the vodka and stir. Fill the glass with ice cubes, if using highball glasses, and top with club soda. For martini glasses, place all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice after muddling and pour into glasses.


Blood Orange Cordial
Cordials may be a bit old fashioned, but they are so simple to make and a great way to preserve the flavors of the season. The blood oranges I used were gorgeous with an intense ruby color, which lend itself beautifully to create such a vibrant juice. To make the cordial, I poached thin blood oranges slices (to use for another sweet project at the time) in simple syrup mixed with some fresh blood orange juice and continued to reduce at a simmer to concentrate the flavor.

1 cup blood orange juice (I used 4 oranges)
1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 blood orange, thinly sliced on a mandolin (optional)

Place the water, blood orange juice and sugar into a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer and add the blood orange slices if desired. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes until the liquid is reduced by about a third. Cool in the pan before straining the liquid into a bottle and removing the poached slices for another use. Store the cordial and the slices in the fridge for up to 3 weeks or the freezer for 3 months.

Variation: This is also delicious using grapefruits (I like Texas Ruby Red). For a Grapefruit Basil Martini, substitute grapefruits for the blood oranges in the cordial. Another way to make these cocktails would be the make a basil simple syrup (infuse basil leaves in an equal mixture of sugar and water) and add to fresh blood orange or grapefruit juice, vodka and club soda.

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While I unfortunately missed last month’s Monthly Mingle hosted by Meeta of What’s For Lunch, Honey, this Blood Orange Basil Cocktail is also my entry for September’s Monthly Mingle, Liquid Dreams. Sipped on the rooftop of my apartment building, this tempting libation was the perfect refresher for a steamy summer day, and it rejuvenated us for our big night out.




Coming in Part 2 – This was the first year I did not bake myself a birthday cake. But, see what our other sweet indulgences…

See more of the Pastry Princess' dessert recipes!

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