even in the depths of winter, passion fruit (lilikoi) is still pumping out of our little side yard. the recent four days of RARE southern california rain knocked down and entire colander full of fruit from the vine.

and passion fruit has that perfect bright, tropical flavor to mentally transport you from all that doom and gloom outside to your mental happy place. mojitos already make me feel like vacation, but that bright punch of color and flavor from the passion fruit is sure to put a smile on your face.

honey passionfruit mojito

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 3 minutes

active time: 2 minutes

total time: 5 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz rum. 4 oz passion fruit (2-3 passion fruit). 1 oz lime juice. 1 tsp honey. 3-5 oz club soda. 10 medium-large mint leaves + a sprig or two for garnish. 2 cups ice. muddler. shaker.

start by tearing up your mint leaves and adding them to the base of your shaker with the rum.

use your muddler to break up the mint for 20-30 seconds till the leaves are very smashed and most of the oils have been released.

add in the passion fruit, honey and lime juice.

add in half the ice. shake well till all the contents are combined. about 30 seconds. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice. pour the contents of your shaker over the ice in your serving glass.

top with club soda and give it a good stir.

garnish with mint, serve and enjoy.

xo, a

honey passionfruit mojito

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 3 minutes

active time: 2 minutes

total time: 5 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz rum. 4 oz passion fruit (2-3 passion fruit). 1 oz lime juice. 1 tsp honey. 3-5 oz club soda. 10 medium-large mint leaves + a sprig or two for garnish. 2 cups ice. muddler. shaker.

start by tearing up your mint leaves and adding them to the base of your shaker with the rum. use your muddler to break up the mint for 20-30 seconds till the leaves are very smashed and most of the oils have been released. add in the passion fruit, honey and lime juice. add in half the ice. shake well till all the contents are combined. about 30 seconds. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice. pour the contents of your shaker over the ice in your serving glass. top with club soda and give it a good stir. garnish with mint, serve and enjoy.

things are ramping up over here at cake and catering headquarters. we have a jam packed food weekend followed by styled shoots two days next week. basically, my fridges and cupboards are stuffed to the gills and i'm looking forward to having my fridge full of food i can actually eat myself again. 

but in the mean time i've been prepping the perfect cocktail for our dinner for eight tomorrow night. the hosts have requested a fruity cocktail with rum, which normally isn't really my thing. however, the pineapple juice makes this fruity and floral cocktail the perfect balance of sweet and refreshing. you can always use pre squeezed juice, but for a really next level cocktail, i recommend squeezing the orange and lime juice fresh. 

el presidente
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 4 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 5 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz light rum. 2 oz pineapple juice. 2 oz orange juice. 1 oz lime juice. .5 oz hibiscus syrup or grenadine. shaker. 2 cups ice. pineapple chunk for garnish. 

start by filling your glass with half the ice and the shaker with the other half. pour in all of your ingredients to the shaker and shake well to combine. 

pour the cocktail into the iced glass. 

garnish with pineapple chunk and serve. 

xo, a

el presidente
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 4 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 5 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz light rum. 2 oz pineapple juice. 2 oz orange juice. 1 oz lime juice. .5 oz hibiscus syrup or grenadine. shaker. 2 cups ice. pineapple chunk for garnish. start by filling your glass with half the ice and the shaker with the other half. pour in all of your ingredients to the shaker and shake well to combine. pour the cocktail into the iced glass. garnish with pineapple chunk and serve.