Boozy Blood Oranges
These boozy blood oranges are the perfect end to a filling meal when you're craving something sweet but something that isn't too heavy on the stomach. It might even pass as a 'healthier' dessert, considering there's no fat - just a lot of sugar and a bit of booze for good measure...
Servings: 2
Calories: 343kcal
Equipment
- 2 small wooden skewers or cocktail sticks
- 2 small serving dishes the oranges should be quite snug in dishes that are deep enough to hold some of the syrup surrounding it - like a sugar moat [see photos]
Ingredients
- 2 blood oranges you can also use normal oranges if you can’t find the blood variety.
- 130 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of Cointreau You can use other orange liqueurs such as triple sec.
Instructions
- Wash and dry the oranges before carefully peeling all of the rind off with a vegetable peeler. Using a sharp knife, remove as much of the white pith from the strips as possible and cut into very thin strips [see photos]
- Using your hands, peel the oranges further, removing as much of the white pith as possible [see notes]
- Cut each orange into four horizontal slices and reshape, holding the segments together by poking a small wooden skewers in the centre of each. Place into the serving dishes and set aside while you make the syrup [see photos and notes]
- Place the thinly sliced orange strips into a small saucepan and cover with some water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat and cook for 10 minutes before draining.
- Combine the sugar and 225ml of fresh water in the same pan and stir over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the cooked orange strips and continue to boil for around 10 minutes or until the orange strips are transparent and glossy.
- Take off the heat and separate the strips from the glaze, placing them onto a lightly oiled plate to cool.
- Return the glaze to the heat and boil uncovered for a further 5-10 minutes or until the syrup has thickened slightly [see notes]
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before stirring in the lemon juice and Cointreau. Allow to cool for a further 5 minutes.
- Pour enough of the cooled syrup over to coat the oranges and top with some of the glazed orange strips. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least a few hours but preferably overnight. Store the extra syrup and the leftover orange strips separately in the fridge.
- Before serving, remove the wooden skewers from the oranges and top with extra syrup and orange strips. Enjoy!
Notes
- Peel the orange as you would if you were planning to eat them as a snack. If you are fussy about the pith, however, you can very carefully slice this layer away using a sharp knife.
- You're essentially disassembling and reassembling the oranges into their original shapes. Make sure the cocktail stick you're using is tall enough and insert it into the middle of each orange.
- The syrup should resemble a thin honey but don't panic too much the consistency - just make sure it doesn't turn into toffee or burn!