From 500 g of raspberries, 300 g of red wine and 250 g of sugar, the Thermomix® produces around 500 ml of mulled wine syrup. One tablespoon in a cup of hot red wine and we have raspberry mulled wine. A small bottle of syrup elevates a whole bottle of wine and is enough for several mulled wine evenings.
We have been filling the syrup into two 250 ml bottles for years and give one away as a gift. Every bottle gets a handwritten label with a simple note: one to two tablespoons per cup of hot red wine, done. The recipient gets a kind of mulled wine concentrate they can keep in the fridge for weeks and use as little or as much as they like.
Mulled Wine Syrup with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 4 ✓
- 500 g raspberries frozen
- 250 g sugar
- 300 g red wine
- 2 Gluehfix mulled wine spice bags
Instructions 0 / 3
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1
Add the raspberries with 50 g of red wine to the mixing bowl, place the steaming basket on top as a splatter guard and cook for 10 minutes / 100°C / speed 1.
Press the puree through a sieve and return it to the mixing bowl.
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2
Add the sugar and the remaining red wine and continue cooking for 10 minutes / 100°C / speed 1. Hang the Gluehfix bags so they do not come into contact with the blades and leave to infuse for a further 10 minutes / 80°C / reverse direction / gentle stir setting.
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3
Fill the syrup into sterilised bottles and leave to cool.
Tip: You can use this festive syrup over ice cream, desserts, and fruit salads, or for mixing drinks. For raspberry mulled wine, add syrup to taste to a cup of hot red wine, stir and enjoy.
If you work cleanly, you can store the sealed syrup in a cool, dark place for several months. Once opened, it will keep in the fridge for about 1 to 2 weeks.
Nutrition per serving
Why raspberries and red wine work so well together
Raspberries bring acidity and a fruity depth that plain red wine alone simply does not have. We cook the 500 g of frozen raspberries first with just 50 g of red wine, then press them through a fine sieve. The seeds stay behind, the puree is clear and clean. Only then do the remaining 250 g of red wine and the 250 g of sugar go in.
The key is the sugar-to-fruit ratio: 250 g of sugar to 500 g of raspberries binds the juice and turns the thin liquid into a syrup that clings to the side of the cup. If we used less sugar, we would end up with juice, not syrup. With this ratio we get the consistency that justifies one tablespoon per serving.
The mulled wine spice bags as a shortcut
Gluehfix bags contain the classic blend of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and star anise in a pre-portioned form. We use them here deliberately instead of loose spices because we do not want to filter the syrup twice. The bags are hung in to infuse for 10 minutes at 80°C on reverse direction at the gentle stir setting and are then squeezed out and discarded.
Anyone who prefers to work with loose spices can replace the two bags with half a cinnamon stick, three cloves, one star anise flower and half a teaspoon of whole cardamom. You will then need a sieve lined with muslin when filling the bottles, otherwise a clove head may end up in the gift bottle. For gift quantities, the Gluehfix bags are the cleaner solution.
Why the Thermomix® really helps here
On the hob, we would need to stir a syrup constantly, otherwise the raspberries burn on the base of the pan. In the mixing bowl, speed 1 runs the whole time and the steaming basket on top acts as a splatter guard, preventing a red mess in the kitchen. 10 minutes to cook down, sieve, another 10 minutes to reduce with sugar and wine, then 10 minutes for the spices to infuse. A total of 30 active minutes without standing over it.
The second advantage is precise temperature control. The step with the Gluehfix bags runs at 80°C, deliberately below boiling point. The essential oils from the cinnamon and cloves are preserved rather than evaporating. On the hob, it is easy to miss that mark.
What can go wrong when filling the bottles
Syrup turns cloudy and goes mouldy
If the bottles were not rinsed out while hot, they will keep for two weeks instead of several months. Our solution: We boil the bottles in a pot of water for 5 minutes before filling, stand them upside down on a clean tea towel and only fill them when the syrup is still hot. As it cools, a light vacuum forms in the bottle, which extends the shelf life considerably.
Syrup is too thin
If the consistency still seems watery after the second cooking step, there was too much liquid left over from the raspberry puree. Our solution: Simply cook for a further 5 minutes at 100°C / speed 1 without the lid. The syrup will thicken further as it cools anyway, so it is better to fill it slightly thinner than too thick.
Spices taste bitter
If the Gluehfix bags infuse for too long or at too high a temperature, we get bitterness instead of aroma. Our solution: Do not exceed 80°C on reverse direction and take the 10 minutes seriously. We then remove the bag with a spoon and do not squeeze it out, as that last squeeze only pushes the bitter tannins into the syrup.
Variations we enjoy making
With fresh raspberries: In summer we make the same quantity with fresh raspberries. The flavour becomes a little brighter and more floral. The frozen version is available in December and delivers more consistent results.
With blackberries or elderberries: For a darker, more bitter result, replace the raspberries 1:1 with blackberries or cooked elderberries. Elderberries need more sugar, around 280 g instead of 250 g.
Alcohol-free with grape juice: Instead of 300 g of red wine, use 300 g of red grape juice. The syrup will be sweeter and loses some of its adult note, but it works well for an alcohol-free punch variation with hot apple juice.
With a splash of orange liqueur: After filling, add 20 g of Cointreau to each bottle. This gives the syrup a citrus note and also acts as an additional preservative.
Other ways we use the syrup
The syrup is not just good for hot mulled wine. We add a tablespoon over vanilla ice cream, stir it into winter desserts or mix it into our advocaat for a Christmas variation. Drizzled over a warm chocolate cake, the syrup creates a restaurant-quality topping with no effort at all.
Anyone looking for more gift ideas from their own kitchen will find recipes for other liqueurs with the Thermomix® and a complete overview of Christmas recipes on our site. For the festive season, our homemade syrups also work well as a base for hot chocolate or warm milk.
Several months sealed, 1 to 2 weeks once opened
Stored sealed, in a cool and dark place, the syrup keeps for several months. We have tested bottles from November through to February without any loss of flavour. The prerequisite is sterile bottles and clean technique when filling.
Once opened, the bottle goes in the fridge and is stable for 1 to 2 weeks. If a light sediment forms after a longer period, that is normal. Simply give it a quick shake. Only when the syrup smells sour or starts to foam does it need to go down the drain.
We do not need to freeze it. With that sugar content, the syrup would not go solid anyway, it would just become more viscous. In the fridge it is ready to use with a tablespoon at any time.
Why our syrup is different from the classic versions
Most mulled wine syrups online are pure citrus and sugar syrups made with orange, lemon and just a dash of wine. Nice and sweet, but in the finished mulled wine you mostly taste orange zest. Our concentrate takes the opposite approach: 500 g of raspberries plus 300 g of red wine as the base. As a result, one tablespoon in hot wine feels like a genuine boost, not a punch flavouring. From 500 ml of syrup, we can elevate around five bottles of simple red wine at a ratio of 1:5. Anyone who already knows the classic citrus paste version will notice the difference at the very first sip.
Our mulled wine syrup is one of the gift ideas we prepare every year in the first week of Advent. Anyone who wants to give more gifts from the Thermomix® kitchen will find the right Christmas recipes on our site.
