Strawberry Chamomile Iced Tea With Gin Food

PINK GIN ICED TEA

Steps:

• Brew the chamomile tea bag with 500ml boiling water, steep for 2-3 mins or following pack instructions. Remove the bag and leave to cool for 5 mins.
• Pour into a large jug with the pink gin, rum, elderflower cordial and juice. Add ice and stir, then add the thyme sprigs and stir again before serving.

STRAWBERRY AND CHAMOMILE SORBET

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil and add honey, cardomon, and Chamomile. Remove from heat after 5 minutes and chill until very cold.
• Place frozen strawberries in a food processor and chop finely. Add chilled syrup and blend until very smooth. Spoon out and save in container in freezer. Serve with mint leaves.

TANGY AND TART ICED TEA WITH MINT

Steps:

• Combine the sugar, water and mint leaves in a small saucepan. Heat on the stove top over low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mint has infused the syrup, about 10 minutes. Strain and cool.
• In a large pitcher add the tea, grapefruit juice and mint syrup. Serve chilled over ice and garnish each glass with a sprig of mint. Add the rum to the pitcher, if desired.

HONEY CITRUS SOUTHERN ICED TEA

Steps:

• Bring 4 cups water to a simmer in a saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags and let steep for 8 minutes. Remove the tea bags and stir in the honey. Let cool.
• Add the sweetened tea to a pitcher along with 2 cups ice and another 4 cups water; stir. Add the sliced kumquats (if using), key limes and lemon. Pour into glasses over ice and garnish with mint.

STRAWBERRY, GRAPEFRUIT, AND CHAMOMILE BRUNCH PUNCH

Steps:

• For the chamomile syrup:
• Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat, add the tea bags, and stir. Cover and let steep for 15 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. Refrigerate until room temperature or chilled, at least 1 hour.
• For the punch:
• In a blender, combine the grapefruit juice and half of the strawberries. Blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large punch bowl. Add the chamomile syrup, bourbon, and bitters. Add the remaining strawberry slices and ice.
• To serve, put a few ice cubes into serving cups, garnish with fresh flowers, if available, and ladle the punch into glasses.

CHAMOMILE STRAWBERRY GIN DAISY COCKTAIL

Steps:

• Place the strawberry in a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler, smash the strawberry into a purée. (If you don't have a muddler, you can use a small bowl and the tines of a fork or the handle of a wooden spoon to smash the berry before adding it to the cocktail shaker.)
• Add the gin, chamomile simple syrup, lemon juice, grenadine and a handful of ice to the shaker. Shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. Add more chamomile simple syrup and lemon to taste.
• Strain into a large (8- to 10-ounce) glass or cup. (If you prefer, you can serve over ice as well.) Garnish with strawberry slices or an edible flower, if desired.

CHAMOMILE TEA CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY ICING

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon chamomile to a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot melted butter over the chamomile and stir. Set aside to steep and cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Use the same saucepan (without washing it out) to bring the milk to a simmer over medium-high heat, keeping watch so it doesn't boil over. Remove from the heat, and stir the remaining 1 tablespoon chamomile into the hot milk. Set aside to steep and cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with the nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper so the long sides of the pan have a couple of inches of overhang to make lifting the finished cake out easier.
• Add the sugar and salt to the bowl with the butter, and whisk until smooth and thick, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, vigorously whisking to combine after each addition. Zest the lemon into the bowl; add the baking powder and vanilla, and whisk until incorporated. Add the flour and stream in the milk mixture while whisking continuously until no streaks of flour remain.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a skewer or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are OK, but you should see no wet batter), 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes.
• While the cake cools, make the icing: Into a medium bowl, squeeze 2 tablespoons juice from the zested lemon, then add the confectioners' sugar. Place the dehydrated strawberries in a fine-mesh sieve set over the bowl and, using your fingers, crush the brittle berries and press the red-pink powder through the sieve and into the sugar. (The more you do this, the redder your icing will be.) Whisk until smooth.
• If needed, run a knife along the edges of the cake to release it from the pan. Holding the 2 sides of overhanging parchment, lift the cake out and place it on a plate, cake stand or cutting board. Discard the parchment. Pour the icing over the cake, using a spoon to push the icing to the edges of the cake to encourage the icing to drip down the sides dramatically. Cool the cake completely and let the icing set.

ICED CHAMOMILE TEA

Steps:

• In a 4-quart saucepan bring all ingredients to a boil and simmer, covered, 15 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat and cool mixture. Steep mixture, covered and chilled, at least 8 hours and up to 24.
• Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a pitcher.
• This tea keeps, covered and chilled, 1 week.
• Serve in ice-filled tall glasses.