Coming from a country that isn’t all that into Easter celebrations, I think I’ve properly embraced this time of year since moving to Australia. As soon as the last licks of Christmas clears off the shelves of the supermarket, Easter charges right in, with Hot Cross Buns and so much chocolate and related confectionary you can see children’s footprints trailing up the walls.
I love a good spiced fruit bread, and hot cross buns to me are convenient, travel sized portions for all your fruit bread needs. Inspired, I decided that those flavours would work fantastically in a cocktail, served (of course) in an Easter Egg.
I started building the flavours of the hot cross bun by infusing the vodka. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, and sultanas go into a jar with vodka, to create notes of spice that lace through the fruit juice mixers. To create a clear infusion of spices and flavours, the vodka must be of a good quality, and our friends at Dan Murphy’s very nicely provided me with a bottle of Fair Quinoa Vodka – the first fair trade vodka in Australia! This vodka is made using Bolivian Quinoa seeds, and create a vodka that has a subtle hint of nutty notes – it reminds me vaguely of hazelnuts – and most importantly, a clean finish.
It seemed an obvious choice to use orange juice and apple juice to provide the mixed peel elements, and the hollow Easter Egg provided a fun vessel to hold this fun cocktail! The final proportions are how I like it balanced, but of course you can use more or less of anything to your taste.
Hot Cross Bun Cocktails
Ingredients
- For the spiced vodka infusion
- 350 ml good quality vodka I used Fair Quinoa Vodka*
- 1 stick cinnamon quill
- 1 tsp grated nutmeg
- 5 cloves
- 1 vanilla bean scraped**
- 2 tsp Sultanas
- 2 tsp Dried Cranberries
- 4 pieces crystallised ginger
For the cocktail
- 700 ml orange juice
- 700 ml cloudy apple juice
- 24 Hollow Chocolate Eggs
Instructions
To infuse the vodka
- Add all the infusion ingredients with the vodka into a clean jar and shake to mix. Leave for at least 5 days to infuse, shaking up the jar once a day.
To make the cocktail
- Add one part infused vodka (or more if you like a stronger spice flavour), with two parts orange juice and two parts cloudy apple juice.
- Shake or stir to combine.
- Using a knife warmed in hot water, carefully cut the tops off your hollow eggs, and pour the cocktail into the egg. Do whatever you'd like with the removed tops - I ate all of mine!
Notes
**The vanilla pods provide plenty of flavour, so no point wasting the precious seeds that are in them! Scrape them out and save them to use in another recipe.
How do you like to celebrate Easter? I’d love to hear your creative ideas in the comment below!
Tea For Tammi was provided with Fair Quinoa Vodka for this post by Dan Murphy’s.
Oh wow! You are one clever lady! Theres an amazing cocktail bar in Melbourne that I love – but this concoction sounds even better!!! Have a lovely Easter – from the Fabulous Foodie Fridays team xx
Thank you! There needs to be Hot Cross Bun infused everything in my life I think. Have a good Easter Lucy!
It’s not Easter anymore, but I’m going to do this one anyway.. Brilliant cocktail idea!!!
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