If you don’t love the whole 70s sunrise effect and prefer a slightly sweeter drink, put a fruity spin on your regular retro Tequila Sunrise. Just follow our easy recipe and funk it up with a little berry. All you need to do is ditch the grenadine and replace with a few strawberries muddled with sugar. Your muddled strawberries will sink, giving you a messy sunrise. Add the vodka and stir well. Then, strain into a tall glass filled with ice cubes and top with 7 Up, sprite, club soda, or sparkling water. Garnish with a strawberry, a lemon slice, and a mint leaf. You can also make strawberry puree to save in the freezer for long term storage. For that you can use freezer-safe zip top bags or special containers made for long term freezer storage. How long does strawberry puree last? Strawberry puree uses uncooked berries, so it has a shorter shelf life than a syrup with cooked berries. Here’s what to expect:

In an airtight container and stored in the fridge, strawberry puree should last at least a few weeks. Typically when you have heated a mixture, added lots of sugar, removed the water, and kept it chilled, it prevents microbial growth. (This is the process that home canners know very well, allowing them to store and preserve all kinds of things.) How to use the strawberry puree for cake The cool thing about these two suggestions is that it gives you the chance to easily combine flavors.Ice cubes – ice cubes make any drink better but I personally prefer cold rather than icy drinks so I usually make sure all my ingredients are cold. Of course, go ahead and use as much ice as you like. Use the strawberry puree as cake filling. Not only will it give a stronger punch of strawberry flavor, since you’re not adding it to the batter, it has no impact on the cake recipe itself so you can just bake it as you are use to. How to do it: Fill sterilized, freezer-safe jars with strawberry puree. Leave half an inch of space at the top. Screw on the jar lid and freeze for up to 1 year. Thaw in the fridge overnight before use. Method 2: Freeze in ice cube molds Pro tip – you can prepare this base a few hours ahead of time and leave it in the refrigerator to chill.

Any dry (meaning brut) sparkling wine works well in this recipe. You can use cava (which is Spanish), Prosecco (Italy’s version of champagne), Crémant (another French sparkling wine), or a sparkling wine from California—all are great options! To create a refreshing Strawberry Rum Punch to serve 4-6 people, begin by combining 2 cups of fresh strawberries (sliced and hulled), 1 cup of white rum, 0.5 cups of pineapple juice, 0.25 cups of freshly squeezed lime juice, and 0.25 cup of simple syrup in a blender. Blend the mixture until smooth and well combined. Make brunch even better with strawberry puree mimosas! These drinks are perfect for any special occasion or weekend gathering and are sure to please everyone. If you’re watching the calories or sugar, add strawberry color and flavoring to your drink with freeze-dried strawberries.

Step 2: Put on the lid and process until the strawberries are very well pureed. They should be liquid with no visible chunks. Typically emulsion-type frostings are best, so those are your Italian, Swiss, and French buttercreams. Lemon Juice helps keep the strawberries fresh and brings out their flavor. Fresh squeezed and bottled both work. How to make strawberry puree with fresh strawberries

Can you use a natural sweetener in strawberry puree? You bet! If you prefer all natural sugars like maple syrup or honey, they work too. You can use equal parts of the following sweeteners to substitute for sugar: Freezing in jars will keep longer than the other methods. This method protects the puree from oxidation. I find that 4-8 ounce jars work best for this. Keep in mind that different sweeteners and how much you use them are going to provide a different sweetness. If you like your drinks sweet, consider adding more sweetener to your puree, but if you like them on the tart side, adding more lemon juice may be the way to go. Every strawberry will have a slightly different starting sweetness, so taste as you go! StoringIf you want to add the puree post-baking, allow the cheesecake to cool completely and remove it from springform as indicated in the recipe. Pour the puree atop the cheesecake to get a drippy effect. Whether a drink contains strawberry puree sauce, strawberry acai refresher, or freeze-dried strawberries, it’s a tasty way to keep the bright, fun flavors of summer going.