Eggnog


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Time: ~ 1 hour
Yield: ~ 1.2 liters
I was never deep into eggnog, but I knew my mom always liked having it around the holidays. So one year I figured out how to make it for her. Of all the recipes I looked at and all the videos I watched, I had one takeaway: eggnog is one of those things that is always WAY better homemade than the store bought crap. This is one of those recipes that I try and it comes out perfect the first time. This is adapted from Joshua Weissman's recipe and I've changed very little. He has a video on his if you are a more visual learner. It's also a good watch to see some of the textures and colors you're going for.


Ingredients

  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 220g granulated sugar
  • 1.0 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp ground cloves
  • 1.0 tbsp ginger powder
  • 1.75 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 0.5 cup bourbon (optional)
  • 1.5 cup heavy cream

Equipment

  • 1 bottle or jar that can hold it
  • 1 pot
  • 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
  • 1 whisk
  • 1 spatula
  • 1 fine mesh sieve
  • 1 metal bowl and 1 larger bowl

Steps

  1. In a large pot, bring the milk to a simmer (do not boil).
  2. While the milk is coming to a simmer, mix the egg yolks and sugar using a mixer until they are whipped and light in color. Start mixing the yolks first and add the sugar a little bit at a time.
  3. Once the milk is simmering, slowly temper the milk into the egg mix by adding one ladle at a time and whisking constantly, ensuring that the milk is fully combined with the egg yolk mixture before adding another ladle. Do this until you've added about 3 ladles.
  4. Then you can pour the whole egg yolk mixture into the milk pot along with the vanilla and whisk until fully combined.
  5. Let this pot go on low heat, stirring often, for 10-15 minutes. You're looking to cook it until it's thickened and coats the back of a spoon well. You can cook it longer if you want a thicker nog, but it will also thicken a bit when we cool it.
  6. Pour it through a fine mesh sieve into a large metal bowl.
  7. Add all the spices, booze, and heavy cream, stirring constantly as you add.
  8. Place the bowl into an ice water bath and mix occasionally until it fully cools.
  9. Package it up and store in the fridge. It should be good for a few days.

Optionals

  • Change up the liquor if you want, but I found I like bourbon the best.
  • Whip up some egg whites to top each glass with when you serve it. I don't, but apparently it's a thing people do.
  • Use freshly ground nutmeg (both for inside and to top it when you serve). I don't, but it'll make you look super classy.
  • Make use of all those egg whites and make some macarons or a pavlova!
  • You can add more booze to it when you serve it.
Make something delicious.