I grew up with frozen concentrate lemonade. Our favourite was the pink variety. It never occurred to me that you could make your own lemonade. But you can and you should! It’s not that difficult and it tastes so much fresher. Plus, it’s customizable.

This raspberry lemonade is the perfect balance of tart and sweet, plus that pink hue is just gorgeous. I think it would be the perfect drink to celebrate the new Barbie movie! You could add a splash of vodka or gin, or some Prosecco or soda water if you want some bubbly.

I got extra fancy and made some floral ice cubes.

Here are a few tips for success:

• Make your simple syrup at least a few hours ahead so that it has time to chill.
• Strain the raspberry puree. No one wants raspberry seeds in their drink.
• Use fresh lemons and strain the juice after squeezing to remove all the seeds and pulp.
• If you’re going to make the floral ice cubes, start with distilled water and boil and cool it. It will make clearer ice cubes than just regular tap water.
• Use silicone ice cube trays. They make removal easy.
• Make sure your flowers are truly edible. Go to a reliable source. I bought mine online from Ottawa Edible Flowers. Just Google for your area.
• The flowers will tend to float to the top of the ice cube tray, so it is best to freeze in 2 stages. All the details are in the recipe.
• You could also use fresh raspberries in the ice cube trays instead of flowers.

Click here to print recipe for Raspberry Lemonade.