Caramelised pineapple punch

Name: Caramelised pineapple punch
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 4 unwaxed lemons, pared zest of 4, juice of 2; 100 g dark brown soft sugar; 1 pineapple, peeled and cored, ½ cut into wedges, ⅔ cut into chunks; 1 cinnamon stick; 200 ml madeira (or sherry, marsala or dessert wine); 500 ml gin (or dark rum)

This is a variation on Mr Micawber’s gin punch recipe as featured in Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield, only with added pineapple – which would have been quite the luxury in Dickens’s time.

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Serves8
CourseDrink
Prepare10 mins
Cook15 mins
Total time25 mins

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4 unwaxed lemons, pared zest of 4, juice of 2
100g dark brown soft sugar
1 pineapple, peeled and cored, ½ cut into wedges, ⅔ cut into chunks
1 cinnamon stick
200ml madeira (or sherry, marsala or dessert wine)
500ml gin (or dark rum)

Put the lemon zest and sugar in a pan; pound with a muddler or wooden spoon. Stir in the pineapple chunks, cinnamon, madeira and gin.
Gently warm the mixture until the vapours emerge. To caramelise, set the mixture on fire (optional). The safest way is to set a small spoonful of warm gin alight on a ladle and pour it in to ignite the rest. Stir the flaming liquid with the ladle for 2 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the pineapple caramelised. Extinguish by turning off the heat and covering with a lid.
Add 900ml just-boiled water and the lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon, water, sugar or gin, if needed. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Strain the mixture, divide between 8-10 heatproof glasses and garnish with the reserved pineapple wedges (charred, if liked).

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