strawberry schnapps spiders

I got this idea all the way back in July 2007 when I was poolside in Bali, sipping cold strawberry calpico.
Strawberry whaaaat?
That’s calpico or calpis (カルピス).

This deliciously sweet-sour soda is one of my absolute favourites. It’s a Japanese product made from water, powdered milk and lactic acid and tastes just like you’d imagine a yoghurt soda would.

I always try to convince my friends to drink it, but they never seem too keen on the idea. I suspect it’s because the pronunciation of the name sounds unfortunately like “cow piss”.

But I’m distracted.

While I drank my can of strawberry calpico, I conjured up a brilliant scheme to make strawberry spiders using strawberry schnapps, strawberry ice cream and the strawberry flavoured calpico.

It took me a while to do it, but in February I had a dinner party and made a trio of strawberry desserts, including this alcoholic spider.

My strawberry syrup was actually the by-product of making strawberry cannoli, so either check out the original batch I made or you can use the below amended recipe as a general guide.

Strawberry Schnapps Spiders
Anna’s very own recipe. Makes 4-6.
Ingredients:
100g strawberries, halved
¼ cup caster sugar
¼ teaspoon orange rind
1 shot of strawberry schnapps per person
Strawberry ice cream
Strawberry soda
Method:
1. In a saucepan, crush the strawberries with a fork then mix through zest and sugar. Add a few drops of water then heat until the sugar melts and strawberries soften.
2. Cook until syrup thickens a little, then put the strawberries into a blender and purée.
3. Strain most of the large pieces and cool completely before chilling in fridge.
4. When ready to serve, fold strawberry schnapps through strawberry syrup then divide between shot or sherry glasses.
5. Gently float the ice cream balls on the syrup then top with strawberry soda. Remember the ingredients will fizz and potentially overflow.

This is my contribution to Mixology Monday’s fruit liqueurs theme which I am hosting right here on Morsels & Musings.

If you want to contribute your own MxMo fruit liqueur cocktail, check out the instructions. I’ll be posting the round-up on Tuesday (Wednesday at the latest) so you’ve still got a bit of time.