Stovetop & Oven

Jam Bellinis from the Midnight Apothecary

Name: Jam Bellinis
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons Blackberry Purée (see below) (or any fruit purée); 4 ounces Prosecco or other dry sparkling wine, chilled; Barspoon, toothpick or cocktail stick; Champagne flute or glass jar; 3 blackberries (on a toothpick); 1/4 cup sugar; 1/4 cup water; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 cups very ripe blackberries

If you're looking for a delicious and fun way to liven up your champagne cocktail, my friend Lottie Muir, the Cocktail Gardener and proprietor of the London pop-up bar Midnight Apothecary has just the answer with these Jam Bellinis.

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Let’s face it… champagne and other sparkling wines are FUN! They are the quintessential celebration drink. Sparkling wines ring in the new year, celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, mark promotions and retirements, help announce new babies and new marriages, and even christen new boats. Wherever there is fun and celebration, sparkling wines won’t be far away. So, let’s have some fun!

A bottle of prosecco with two cut glass pitchers of fruit puree and a cut glass bowl with raspberries, blackberries and lemon peel garnishes.

This recipe for jam bellinis comes from my friend and mixologist extraordinaire, Lottie Muir. As anyone knows who visited the Midnight Apothecary pop-up bar in London, England knows, Lottie is someone who knows a lot about fun and in this cocktail she’s bringing fun to everyone. Though it’s called a Jam Bellini, this cocktail doesn’t actually use jam, but a quick fruit purée that anyone can make. Purée your choice of berries (Lottie suggests blackberries) in a blender with some lemon juice and superfine sugar OR if you don’t have a blender, simmer them on the stovetop until they breakdown into a purée of sorts. Either way, strain out the seeds (no-one likes berry seeds in their teeth when they are trying to look sophisticated drinking a champagne cocktail) and get ready for the next step.

All the ingredients for jam bellinis with two champagne flutes being filled.

The next step, of course, is to simply mix it with champagne. Champagne is, strictly speaking, sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France. You aren’t limited to champagne for this cocktail recipe – prosecco, cava or any sparkling wine will do, but Lottie does recommend a dry sparkling wine that will counteract the sweetness of the purée. Pour the champagne into the berry purée, stirring as you do to incorporate the two ingredients. Et voilà! You’re ready to enjoy a cocktail that is not only delicious, but absolutely beautiful as well.

Mason jars with jam bellinis lined up on a piece of wood with prosecco in the background.

These cocktails are so very pretty that it becomes a pleasure to garnish them. If you’re planning a fancier celebration, be sure to use champagne flutes, but look how cute they can be in little jam jars if your occasion is more casual. You could even set up a jam bellini bar with a little purée in several jars or glasses and then just have people pour their own champagne. A few berries and curls of lemon zest are all you need for gorgeous garnishes.

This is just one of many cocktail recipes from Lottie’s first book – Wild Cocktails from the Midnight Apothecary by Lottie Muir, published by CICO Books (£16.99) © CICO Books. You can find out more information on her book here or check out her other book Wild Mocktails and Healthy Cocktails: Home-grown and foraged low-sugar recipes from the Midnight Apothecary for more delicious cocktail recipes.

Jam Bellinis

Nutrition Info Print Recipe

Prep Time: 5 m
Total Time: 5 m
Servings:
1

Ingredients

Jam Bellini

3 tablespoons Blackberry Purée (see below) or any fruit purée
4 ounces Prosecco or other dry sparkling wine, chilled

Tools

Barspoon, toothpick or cocktail stick

Glass

Champagne flute or glass jar

Garnish

3 blackberries on a toothpick

Blackberry Purée

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups very ripe blackberries

Instructions

Jam Bellini

Pour the purée carefully into the glass. Slowly add the sparkling wine, stirring as you do to combine the purée with the bubbly. Garnish with the blackberries on the toothpick or cocktail stick.

Blackberry Purée

Make a simple syrup by combining the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil until the sugar has dissolved completely. Set aside to cool.
In a blender, purée the blackberries, lemon juice and the simple syrup together. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any seeds and to ensure the purée is smooth.
Alternatively, if you don't have a blender, place the blackberries, lemon juice, sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a nonreactive saucepan. Heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer until the blackberries have broken up in the pan. Then strain through a fine mesh strainer.
Once made, store in the refrigerator and use within a couple of days. This recipe makes about 5 servings.

Enjoy,

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