Making Eggnog with 31Dover *

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing a few cocktail recipes to get us in the Christmas spirit…literally!

The first one up is Eggnog, a new one, that I had never tried before and was a lot  more work than I thought it would be. It was so worth it though as the drink was great! I think it’s a proper after dinner treat! Our neighbour loved it and wanted to mix it with coffee so that was a good start!

If you’re going to be serving this as an after dinner drink, you will need to prepare a lot of it in the morning as it needs to chill for a fair few hours.

Ingredients

3 egg yolks
75g (3oz) golden caster sugar
800ml (1 1/4pints) whole milk
1tsp vanilla extract
2 cinnamon sticks, plus extra to serve
150ml (1/4 pint) rum
200ml (1/3 pint) whipping cream
pinch of ground cinnamon or freshly grated nutmeg, to serve

Method

Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until well combined.

Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the vanilla pod or extract and cinnamon sticks, place over a medium low heat and bring just to the boil.

Pour the hot milk over the egg and sugar mix and whisk well. Pour back into the cleaned out pan, place over a low-medium heat and stir constantly until thickened slightly.
Remove from the heat and stir in the rum or brandy, set aside to cool for approximately 20-25 minutes and then chill for at least 3 hours.

Once cool, whisk the cream and fold into the mixture.

Fill glasses with ice and pour over the egg nog.

Sprinkle with a little ground cinnamon or a grating of fresh nutmeg and decorate each glass with a cinnamon stick.

I have to admit that I got bored of whisking and used a Kitchen Aid that my neighbour kindly lent me! How I long to have my own!

The Eggnog did taste bloody good though, and I will certainly be making it again over the Christmas period!