Got ‘nog?

This recipe brings me some serious redolent memories – pyjamas, decorating the Christmas tree with my family, and opening the fridge and helping myself to full-to-the-brim glasses of eggnog from the carton.
Eggnog is a North American phenomenon, and hasn’t reached our shores in Europe – that I know of. Not here in Ireland at least. Three years ago I gave this eggnog recipe a spin with my family, and it went down a treat. I made it again this past weekend, and with the help of some old school Christmas music, fiance and I were well on our way to decorating our apartment. 

This recipe however, has a rather hearty kick of rum in the mix, but it can be made without rum in order to appeal to a wider audience. Full eggnog recipe is stored away neatly below. It seriously is Christmas in a glass. Srsly.

Note: I halved this recipe for fiance and I. Half the recipe still gave us 3+ glasses each. We were well on our merry way!

Ingredients
12 egg yolks*
5 cloves {I ground them up. You can leave them whole if you like}
4 cups of milk
3 1/2 cups of cream {substitute with soya cream for less inches on your waist}
3 cups of light rum
2 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
3/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, ground


Method


In a saucepan over low heat, blend the milk, cinnamon, cloves and half
a teaspoon of the vanilla essence. Keep stirring while mixture heats,
and remove from heat just before boiling point.

In a bowl, mix together the sugar with all those egg yolks. Whisk them well so that they’re light and fluffy. Gently and a little at a time, pour in the milk mixture while continuing to whisk.
Transfer mixture back into your saucepan over a medium heat while
continuing to stir. Keep stirring until your eggnog mixture gets closer to
resembling custard. Never let it reach boiling point!

Pour the mixture into a jug, making sure to remove the cloves. Stand
jug in the fridge or leave on the stove top for an hour or two to allow it to cool. Stir in the
cream, light rum, remaining vanilla and ground nutmeg. Serve in glasses all pretty with a little extra ground cinnamon sprinkled on top.

*I put the egg whites into a container and freeze them. Then there’s a
load of whites ready to be defrosted should you make meringue or
anything needing that much egg whites. Waste not, want not! 

Leave a Reply to Alex - The Interior DIYer Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2 Comments

  1. November 30, 2011 / 18:07

    Hi Alex, I will confess I have never tried egg nog. I think possibly because being down under our Christmas is in summer. I do however want to experience at least one white Christmas in my lifetime. Although after getting snow here in August I think one to two days of snow would be enough for me lol.

    Great idea on freezing the egg whites. Does the egg nog have to have the rum? Can you put another spirit in?

    Peppermint Bark:
    Melt a block of white chocolate, either in the microwave on short bursts or in a double boiler. When melted pour it out onto a baking paper lined tray in a thin layer. Sprinkle over smashed candy canes or peppermint candies, gently pressing them into the chocolate. Chill until set and then break into pieces.

  2. December 1, 2011 / 11:06

    Luckily Janine, eggnog is served cold, so maybe it could be a chilled drink served on a hot winters day? It sounds like it should be served hot (probably because it's cooked no the stove top), but it's most definitely a cool drink. It's powerfully filling, so don't expect to lash into 3 glasses!

    Traditionally, it's served with either bourbon, brandy or rum. If you go down the vodka route, the taste will differ, since the latter is not sweet. Alternatively, you could cook off the booze on the stove, and you'll still get the taste, but with less of a kick.

    I am shocked at how simple the peppermint bark is!!! So doing it. Thanks Janine 🙂