Ponche de frutas, fruit punch, or fruit cocktail, is a classic at children's birthday parties, and my video-recipe is a healthier, more natural version that kids and adults alike will love.
By - Reviewed: . Original: Aug 20, 2012
❝ ¡Muy rico! ❞
Why we ❤️ it
There cannot be a Dominican child's birthday party without Ponche de Frutas (Fruit Punch). In an introduction to Dominican party food for our first book, Jill Wyatt wrote:
"Just as a child's birthday cannot be appropriately celebrated without a sugary fruit punch in which banana slices are set adrift, it appeared that mourners could not properly grieve, nor could merrymakers effectively make themselves so, without some alimentary offering".
Jill has a talent for capturing small but essential details.
What's fruit punch?
Fruit punch is basically fruit juice and small pieces of fruit.
And that's basically where the definition ends. People will add different types of juices, and different types of fruits to it.
Homemade fruit punch.
Serving suggestions
Here you can see them served with our Dominican cupcakes, which I think are fabulous for kids' birthdays. You can also serve the classic Dominican cake.
And don't forget the appetizers: mini-sandwiches, Quipes, Pastelitos, and Croquettes are the four pillars of our parties.
Top tips
- Fruit: This homemade fruit punch recipe is made with delicious, sweet flavors from fresh fruit. I've also added the (apparently) absolutely essential banana slices, as well as diced apple, cherry, pineapple, strawberry, mango, and pear. You can omit them if you'd like.
- Juice: The base of the punch is the ever-popular passion fruit juice, but you can use pineapple juice, white grape juice, or apple juice. You can add a little cranberry juice if you want the traditional reddish color of fruit punch. See more Dominican fruit juices for ideas.
- Garnish: If you want to garnish the glasses as if it were an elegant cocktail, you can top them with a few slices of orange, lemon, or lime.
- What to serve it in: Fruit punch used to be served in a traditional large punch bowl, but few people have those these days, so you can serve it in a large pitcher (or several), or in a beverage dispenser with a spout, and add the fruit after pouring.
- Leftovers: If you have any leftovers, pour them into popsicle molds and freeze them.
- Cutting: Cut the fruit small enough to eat in one bite, but not so small that it poses a choking hazard for young children. Do not serve it to very young children who cannot chew it.
- Sparkling water: You can add sparkling water when serving if you want some fizz in the fruit punch, but this isn't the traditional way to make it.
- For adults: For adults, you can add vodka or rum to taste.
About this recipe
As a former child myself, and mother of one, I can attest that kids love this drink recipe. Mostly they love diving in for the fruit at the bottom of the cup. But if you are also inviting grown-ups to the party (not an unusual thing here, where sometimes there are more grown-ups at a child's birthday party than there are children) I am also sharing a little secret to "spike the punch" for them.
I must have drunk several gallons of Dominican ponche de fruta (fruit punch) during my childhood. And the first thing I and everyone else who did will remember is that mine doesn't look much like that drink of bygone days.
For starters fruit punch was always red (ish?). That is because the over-sweetened base that was used came from a plastic container and was laced with artificial red coloring and tons of sugar. You'll be glad to hear this one does not.
Some recipes call for store-bought fruit punch concentrates, orange juice concentrate, lemonade concentrate, etc. This one is made with natural fruit juice.
The greatest thing about this drink is how flexible it is. You can add or take out any fruits of your choice. Just get creative!
Video
Recipe
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Fruit Punch [Video+Recipe] Ponche o Coctel de Frutas
Ingredients
- 1 quart orange juice, [1 liter]
- 1 quart fresh passionfruit juice, [1 liter]
- ½ cup sugar
Pick four (or more) of these fruits:
- 4 bananas, sliced
- 1 apple, diced
- 1 cup cherries, pitted and halved
- 1 cup pineapple, diced
- 1 cup mango, diced
- strawberries, diced
- 1 cup pear, diced
- ½ cup Brown sugar, or sweetener of your choice, or to taste
Ice
- 4 cup ice cubes
Instructions
1. Mix the juices
Mix the orange juice and the passion fruit juice, and add sugar to taste.
2. Add fruit
- Add the fruit: choose four fruits from the list, or fewer, or more, as you like.
3. Add ice
- Add ice and stir.⚠️ Add the ice right before serving. You can keep the punch in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it—that’s when you should add the ice.
4. Serve
- Serve the punch with a ladle to ensure the fruit is distributed evenly among the servings.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
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