Canned fruit is one of our favorite pantry staples, standing in for fresh fruit in the off-season, or when the fresh version is a little harder to find. The latter applies to lychees, which don't tend to be a common sight in the produce aisle.
The unique taste of lychees stands up exceptionally well to the canning process. Often described as a cross between strawberry and pear with floral notes, this flavor is also captured in the canning syrup. So once you've used the fruit pieces in lychee cocktails, cakes, or for snacking, you can keep the lychee-flavored desserts coming with the leftover juice.
The taste of lychee pairs well with other tropical fruits, such as coconut or mango, but it also has a citrusy tang that can be enhanced by flavors like lime or yuzu. It also works with more delicately flavored desserts, with the perfume-like aroma offering a less overpowering alternative to rose water.
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You can use lychee syrup in any of your favorite desserts that use lychee fruit, and in fact, some recipes call for both. This strawberry, coconut, and lychee layer cake uses the chopped fruit in the filling and the syrup as a soak for the cake. Taking inspiration from this, you could swap lemon for lychee syrup in this glazed pound cake recipe or whip up a lychee buttercream frosting to add to cupcakes or delicate French macarons.
Straight out of the can, lychee syrup is a ready-made sauce that can be stirred into desserts like coconut rice pudding or drizzled over a yogurt parfait for a decadent flavor boost.
To make that lychee taste the star of the show, use the canning syrup as the base of the dessert. Lychee jelly makes a for a sweet treat on its own, or it could be added to bubble tea or trifle recipes. A lychee panna cotta will highlight all the heady perfume of the fruit, especially if you serve it with a drizzle of the reduced syrup.