Mulled Cranberry & Raspberry Punch

At our recent Non-Christmas Christmas Party, I made a batch of Mulled Cranberry and Raspberry Punch* as an alternative to an alcoholic beverage.  I thought it turned out rather well (but I’m biased, naturally); it actually received a mixed reaction.

Here’s how to make it and try for yourselves:

Pour 2 litres cranberry juice into a large pan.  Add 1 cinnamon stick, 10 whole cloves, 2.5cm piece roughly chopped fresh root ginger and 40g golden caster sugar.

Add most of 200g raspberries to the pan, reserving the remainder.  Halve 1 orange and add both halves to the pan.  Heat gently and stir to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for 5 minutes or until the raspberries are soft.

Strain through a fine sieve, pressing the fruit gently with the back of a spoon to extract the juice.  Return the liquid to the pan to warm through.  Ladle the punch into glasses and garnish with the reserved raspberries and orange wedges.

Serves 10.

*Recipe taken from Good housekeeping magazine’s “95 Ideas, Tips and Recipes for a Very Merry Christmas.”