Hibiscus Strawberry Margarita Ice Cream Float

A grown up’s ice cream float, this Hibiscus Strawberry Margarita Ice Cream Float is simple to put together and is bursting with delicious fruity, citrus and strawberry flavour, and topped with a salted lime sherbet and lemon lime soda! Perfect for Cinco de Mayo parties (or any party for that matter) and summer gatherings! 

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I have had this obsession since last year, and it goes by the name of Hibiscus.

It’s funny because I remember playing with hibiscus flowers when I was a kid. A lot. You know those days when kids used to do arcane and preposterous things like play house – Hibiscus makes a good blood substitute. I remember smashing up hibiscus flowers and using them as a red paint substitute for painting and art projects in school. And then in grade 4, we used the hibiscus flower to learn about the anatomy of a flower (I was so good at drawing one too!), and then later I smashed it and boiled it and used it as a chemical indicator for science projects. Apparently, I used to smash hibiscus flowers a lot when I was a kid.

And in all that time, I never realized or thought about drinking it! Hibiscus is said to have medicinal properties too, and I can totally see that. It’s absolutely gorgeous with surprisingly fruity and citrus flavours. So now that I’m older (and wiser? one can hope), all I’m thinking about is using hibiscus in a drink, one that’s spiked with a good amount of alcohol (alcohol can be medicinal too right?).

And the result was this incredible Hibiscus and Strawberry Margarita Ice Cream Float!! Yep, that’s right, a margarita ice cream float!

Hibiscus, strawberry, tequila, soda and ice cream! Cinco de Mayo celebrations won’t ever be the same again for me! 🙂

I first introduced hibiscus on my blog last year with this Coconut and White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Hibiscus Pearls that used a little bit of molecular gastronomy magic. Those were phenomenal and certainly food porn worthy. If you guys haven’t seen it yet, you should definitely check it out!

This Strawberry and hibiscus margarita ice cream float however is in a league of its own! It’s a grown up’s ice cream soda float. The hibiscus strawberry syrup is packed with deliciously fruity, citrus, strawberry flavour, and then it’s mixed with tequila, and salted lime sherbet, and topped with lemon lime soda! And holy crap, it’s sensory overload with flavours! It’s a fruity margarita drink that doubles up as a dessert. I also had this with vanilla ice cream, but my homemade salted lime sherbet really intensified all the flavours! You can get the recipe now! I’ll be sharing the recipe for the lime sherbet with you guys, later this week, so make sure to sign up for updates so that you guys know when the recipe is up on the blog! 🙂  You can still sign up for updates so you know when new recipes are up on the blog.

You’re more than welcome to use regular, store-bought lime sherbet for this. Just remember to add a generous pinch of sea salt on top of the ice cream float. The salt really makes this taste more like an authentic margarita.

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5 from 5 votes

Hibiscus Strawberry Margarita Ice Cream Float

Author: Dini K.

Servings: 1 drink

Print Rate

Ingredients:

Hibiscus Strawberry Syrup (makes about 1 and 3/4 cups of syrup)

• ▢ 2 cups water
• ▢ 3/4 cup sugar
• ▢ 1 lb sliced strawberries
• ▢ 1 oz dried hibiscus flowers or equal weight in hibiscus tea bags

Margarita Ice Cream Float

• ▢ 1 shot of Hibiscus Strawberry Syrup
• ▢ 1 1/2 shots of Silver Tequila
• ▢ 1 - 2 scoops of Salted Lime Sherbet - depends on how much you want! We had 1 1/2 scoops or store-bought lime sherbet with some sea salt sprinkled on top
• ▢ Lemon lime soda to top

Instructions:

Hibiscus Strawberry Syrup

• Boil water, sugar and hibiscus. After it comes to a boil, simmer for another 15 minutes to thicken. Drain.
• Bring the hibiscus liquid to a boil again and add the strawberry slices. Simmer on low for 5 - 10 minutes until the strawberries are softened and the syrup has thickened. Let it cool completely. Drain the liquid through a fine sieve and gently press down on the strawberries to get all the liquid out. Transfer it to a bottle. Let it refrigerate overnight.

Margarita Ice Cream Float

• Pour the Hibiscus Strawberry Syrup and Tequila into a tall ice cream sundae glass.
• Add a scoop of lime sherbet.
• Top with lemon lime soda and a sprinkle of salt (if you’re using store bought regular lime sherbet).
• Optional - zest some lime on top of the float.
• Serve immediately. Stir before you drink!

Tips & Tricks

Note - if the syrup is too thin, you can let it simmer a little longer to make it thicker.

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

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