How to Garnish Spiced Hot Apple Cider
Hot apple cider is a quintessential fall and winter drink, and the warm fruity flavours make it a fixture on practically every holiday that falls within this season, like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. While the drink is great on its own, a couple of creative, well-placed garnishes can make it extra special.
Instructions
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1
Cinnamon is the most common garnish used for hot spiced apple cider. In addition to sprinkling a pinch of powdered cinnamon on top of the cider, another great way to use it as a garnish is to stick a long rolled cinnamon stick into the cider, to serve as a spicy stirring straw. Other spices that can be used for garnish include powdered nutmeg – a small pinch of this can go a long way in elevating cider.
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2
Citrus is frequently used in the making of spicy hot apple cider, and can also serve as a great garnish. While fresh orange slices can be used, you can also stud thinly sliced orange slices with cloves, cook them in your cider, and when you pour your cider out into mugs, float a clove-studded orange slice on top of each serving. In addition to orange, classic lemon wedges also make a great garnish for spicy hot apple cider.
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Apple slices can also be used to garnish the drink, and given that it is apple cider, it is only fitting. Again, you can cut thin slices of apple (make sure there are no seeds in it), and either stick these on the rim, or float them on top of each serving of cider. Sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon or nutmeg onto this, to give it visual appeal.
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For many people, hot spiced apple cider and thick rich whipped cream do not exactly seem like a match made in heaven. However, the two go surprisingly well together, and after you pour your apple cider into a serving mug, you can top it with a generous spritz of canned whipped cream, and sprinkle this with a pinch of powdered cinnamon or nutmeg. Try spraying the whipped cream on so that it forms a tall mound on top of the cider.
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Add on props that are appropriate to the holiday. If it is Halloween, you can get candy shaped like spiders or bugs, and float these on top of the cider. Stick a tiny pilgrim onto the side of the serving glass for Thanksgiving, and hang a candy cane from the rim of the serving mug on Christmas.
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