This week, Ferme Reveuse tasked me with creating an egg nog recipe with their delicious eggs. When I polled people to see whether they liked egg nog or not it seemed like those who enjoy it were skewed on the older side. I also decided to make a cooked egg nog for those who are squeamish about eating raw eggs.
Making a custard, which is the method in which you prepare the egg nog base, requires attention to detail and patience. You must continuously stir slowly making sure you graze the bottom of the pan with a spatula. The heat must be hot enough to cook the egg but not too hot or else it will curdle. I made this with a coconut milk that didn’t have any emulsifiers in it, it curdled regardless of bringing it to temperature slowly but straining it after and adding a thickener starch offers some forgiveness.
If you’re up for the challenge (and deliciousness) check out this naturally sweetened, crowd pleasing egg nog recipe. I also offer options for a non alcoholic version.
I really enjoyed this on ice, too. It worked well!
Egg Nog
Makes 8-10 servings, paleo and dairy free option
4 ferme reveuse large egg yolks
2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
1/2 cup maple syrup
900 ml cream or coconut milk
1” piece of vanilla bean
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Add-ins:
1 cup cream or coconut milk
1 cup plum brandy or 1/2 cup strong coffee, cooled
Garnish:
freshly grated nutmeg
Whisk egg yolks and cornstarch together in a heat-proof bowl until fully mixed. Whisk in maple syrup.
Meanwhile, heat up 900ml cream in a saucepan until just steaming. Take cream off of the heat. Stream in 1 small ladle worth of warm cream into the egg yolk mixture whisking the egg yolks the entire time. This brings the egg yolks slowly up to temperature. Continue to slowly drizzle in the warm cream in until you use 2/3 of the cream. Pour egg and cream mixture back into the saucepan and whisk.
Using a heat proof rubber spatula, bring the saucepan back up to a medium-low heat and start slowly stirring, scraping the bottom of the pot the entire time. A thermometer is a really good help here but not necessary. Heat up the mixture until thickened or until it reaches 150F for 10 min. This ensures that the yolks are pasteurized. Also be assured that the mixture will thicken up a bit as it cools as well.
(Note: I took this mixture at this stage and set some aside to be served as a cooled custard. You don’t have to follow the next steps if you want to keep this as a dessert.)
Remove from heat and pour into a clean heat safe container. Let it cool off a bit at room temperature for 10 min. Refrigerate until cool, about 1-2 hours. Remove from the fridge and stir in 1 cup of cream and the brandy or coffee. Return to the fridge and cool until ready to serve.
To serve, put one large ice cube in a glass and pour in desired amount of egg nog in. Grate fresh nutmeg on top.
Best served within 3 days.
