Mango Lemonade {easy, make ahead recipe!}

This refreshing Mango Lemonade is the perfect tropical beverage to help you cool down on a hot Summer’s day. Sweet and tart, it’s also super easy to make!

What a month. Tomorrow marks one month since we lost Poppy and it’s been such a roller coaster of emotions. We are both outwardly coping much better than I thought, but I think both Mr AN and I are both throwing ourselves into work, because I know that when I stop in the evenings… that’s when reality hits and I realise she isn’t here anymore.

I’m not sure if I believe in an after life or anything… I feel like maybe there is something as in my head I can’t compute that someone is there one second and gone the next, but it confuses me. However, both Mr AN and I have both been getting these brief few seconds of goosebumps, where we feel freezing cold just in our chests, not cold like we need a blanket and then it goes. We like to think it’s Poppy coming home from a day out running in the fields, but I don’t know if I’m fooling myself. Every time my fiancé goes near her ashes he gets the goosebumps too. It brings us some comfort thinking she is all around us, so I think we’ll continue to believe it’s her.

The weather is finally warming up here, which Poppy would have loved. She loved nothing more than sitting outside in the garden, sniffing the air and rolling around in the warm grass. It also means I don’t want to turn the oven on as much, so recipes like this Mango Lemonade have been happening. It’s easy to make, refreshing and perfect for family gatherings.

I used mango purée for this recipe, so there’s less mess and it really does take under 10 minutes to make. I’m sure not everyone is as clumsy as me, but with mangoes I almost lose fingers. It’s much safer for all around me if I use a can of purée!!!

You can of course use fresh mango and then blitz it into a purée for this lemonade and I did use freshly squeezed lemon juice, so I hope I’m forgiven for using a can in this recipe. It’s not normally the way I go as I love making things from scratch, but mangoes are a nemesis for me. Super slippery and no matter how many times I’m told/shown, I cannot cut one apart without butchering it.

The base of this recipe is a simple syrup which I made with 1 cup of water and 3/4 cup of sugar. I needed less sugar than normal for this simple syrup as I knew the mangoes would be sweet and I didn’t want this Mango Lemonade to be sickly sweet; just that perfect balance between tart lemons and tropical mangoes!

Once you’ve made the simple syrup, all you have to do is mix all the other ingredients together, plop in some ice cubes and serve. Or place it in the fridge before adding the ice cubes and leave it to chill before serving at a later date.

Out of all the lemonade recipes I’ve made, I think this one has to be my favourite! I just love the fact that the mango transports me right to a Summery mood, no matter where I am and I hope you’ll enjoy it too!

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Mango Lemonade

This refreshing Mango Lemonade is the perfect tropical beverage to help you cool down on a hot Summer's day. Sweet and tart, it's also super easy to make!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Servings 8

Author Annie N

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240ml) water
• 3/4 cup (150g) caster/white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (390g) mango purée, from a can or, fresh mango blitzed in a food processor
• 1/3 cup (80ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 cups (960ml) sparkling water, you can use plain water if you want still lemonade

Instructions

1. Place 1 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar into a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer and stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Leave to one side for a minute, whilst you mix the rest of the ingredients.

2. Place mango purée and lemon juice into a large pitcher and mix until well combined. Gradually pour in the sparkling or still water (whichever is your preference) stirring as you go, until you have a well combined mixture.

3. Add in your simple syrup and stir again, then either place in the fridge to chill or place a few ice cubes into some glasses and serve immediately. 

4. If you leave in the fridge to chill, you will need to briefly mix it again before serving. You can serve it chilled with or without ice cubes, completely up to you! Mango Lemonade will keep covered, in the fridge for 4 days.

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