Helga from the Thermomix® is a raspberry Prosecco longdrink made with homemade syrup. Sieving the raspberry mixture removes the seeds and keeps the drink smooth rather than gritty. Skip that step and the drink feels sandy in the mouth.
We have been making Helga for barbecue evenings and garden parties for years. The name comes from the East German bar scene, though the exact origin is unclear. What is clear: the drink only works with homemade raspberry syrup, and no bottle from the supermarket comes close to the freshness.
Helga, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 6 ✓
- 150 g sugar
- 300 g water
- 350 g raspberries
- 400 g white wine well chilled
- 200 g ice cubes
- 750 g Prosecco well chilled
Instructions 0 / 4
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1
Cook the sugar syrup.
Add sugar and water to the mixing bowl and cook without the measuring cup for 15 min / Varoma / speed 1.
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2
Blend the raspberries.
Add 300 g raspberries (make sure the measuring cup is in place!) and blend for 10 sec / speed 10.
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3
Blend the raspberry mixture with white wine.
Push the raspberry mixture through a fine sieve and back into the mixing bowl. Add the white wine and blend for 20 sec / speed 8.
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4
Serve.
Divide the ice cubes and remaining raspberries among the glasses, pour in the raspberry wine and top up with Prosecco.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Cook the syrup hot, then blend the berries cold
The sugar syrup needs 15 minutes at Varoma temperature without the measuring cup. This evaporates about a third of the water and gives the syrup a thick consistency. If you put the measuring cup in, the steam condenses on it and drips back down, leaving the syrup too thin.
Then add the raspberries to the still-hot syrup. Make sure the measuring cup is in place now, otherwise the hot mixture will splatter out of the lid when blending. 10 seconds at speed 10 is enough to break down the berries completely.
Sieving makes the difference between smooth and gritty
Press the blended mixture through a fine sieve and back into the mixing bowl. The seeds stay in the sieve and the smooth juice passes through. If you skip this step, hundreds of tiny seeds will float in the glass and get stuck between your teeth.
Blend the sieved raspberry syrup with well-chilled white wine. 20 seconds at speed 8 combines the two components into a smooth base. The wine must be cold, otherwise the finished drink will be lukewarm.
Add the Prosecco in the glass, not in the mixing bowl
Divide the ice cubes and the remaining 50 g raspberries among the glasses. Pour in the raspberry wine mixture and top up with well-chilled Prosecco. Never put the Prosecco in the Thermomix®, as that would drive out the bubbles and make the drink flat.
The ratio is roughly 1 part raspberry wine to 2 parts Prosecco. For 400 ml glasses, pour in about 130 ml of raspberry wine and top up with 250 ml of Prosecco. The exact amount depends on how many ice cubes are in the glass.
Berry alternatives if you have them to hand
Strawberries instead of raspberries work, but give a milder flavour. Strawberries have less acidity and still need to be sieved, as their seeds are smaller but just as noticeable. Blackberries are too sharp for this drink and make the flavour bitter.
Frozen raspberries work too, and do not need to be thawed. Add them straight from frozen into the hot syrup and blend. They even cool the mixture down slightly, which helps when blending with the wine later.
Storage and preparation ahead of time
The raspberry wine mixture, without Prosecco, keeps in the fridge for 2 days. No longer, as the wine oxidises and starts to taste stale. Always add the Prosecco fresh, just before serving.
If you are making Helga for a party, prepare the raspberry syrup the day before and blend it with the wine no more than 2 hours before guests arrive. That keeps the drink fresh and the flavours bright.
More refreshing drinks from the Thermomix® on mixmyday.com: Aperol Spritz, Lillet Wild Berry and Hugo.
