Birthday Peach Bellini
It’s a long-lived tradition in our family that on someone’s birthday, that person gets to pick what’s for dinner that night. For many years, there was a particular Italian restaurant that all of Michelle’s kids chose to go to for their special days. Of course, a birthday dinner would not be complete without a special drink to go with the meal. The choice always ended up being a virgin peach Bellini—and boy, was it delicious! However, as you could assume, that one was loaded with sugars and syrups that simply aren’t friendly to our guts at this point in our lives. We’ve created this straightforward but no less delicious rendition that we think brings just the right amount of fancy and ease to any special occasion.
Ingredients
yield: 2 (8-ounce [240-ml]) servings
- 8 oz 224 g fresh or thawed frozen sliced peaches
- 1 cup 240 ml sparkling apple juice
- 2 ½” [1.3-cm]-thick slices fresh peaches, for garnishing (optional)
- Fresh raspberries for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Place the 8 ounces (224 g) of peaches in a medium measuring cup or a narrow widemouthed Mason jar and use an immersion blender to puree them.
- Alternatively, you can use a blender or small food processor to create this puree.
- Once the peaches are smooth, divide the puree evenly between two champagne flutes or glasses of your choosing.
- Pour ½ cup (120 ml) of the sparkling apple juice into each flute.
- Use a swizzle stick to mix the peach puree with the apple juice, gently so as not to lose the fizz, until they’re combined.
- Garnish each glass with 1 slice of peach (if using) and fresh raspberries (if using), and enjoy.