Holiday Eggnog
By America's Test KitchenPublished on December 20, 2012
Time
45 minutes, plus 3 hours chilling
Yield
Serves 12-16
Ingredients
Before You Begin
To prevent curdling, do not heat custard beyond 165 degrees. If it does begin to curdle, remove from heat immediately and pour into a bowl set over a larger bowl of ice water to stop the cooking, and proceed with recipe. You can omit the brandy to make a non-alcoholic eggnog, but you should also decrease the cream to 1/4 cup in order to keep the right consistency. For the same reason, increase the cream to 3/4 cup if you choose to add another 1/2-cup alcohol for a high-test nog.
Instructions
- Whisk, eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in medium bowl until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds; set aside. Bring milk and salt to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
- When milk mixture comes to simmer, remove from heat and, whisking constantly, slowly pour into yolk mixture to temper. Return milk-yolk mixture to saucepan. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 160 to 165 degrees, 2 to 5 minutes.
- Immediately pour custard through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl; stir in liquor, vanilla and grated nutmeg. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, at least three hours and up to three days.
- Just before serving, using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip heavy cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Whisk whipped cream into chilled eggnog. Serve, garnished with extra nutmeg.
Time
45 minutes, plus 3 hours chillingYield
Serves 12-16Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted a rich eggnog recipe with a relatively thick, creamy texture. Starting with a standard custard recipe (six eggs to 4 cups milk to 1/2 cup sugar), we tinkered around to find improvements. To enhance the custard's flavor and richness, we added two extra egg yolks; a little more sugar and a bit of salt also improved the flavor. Many eggnog recipes, though not all, called for the milk to be added to the beaten eggs very gradually. Upon trying this, we found that it did indeed make for a smoother texture.
Before You Begin
To prevent curdling, do not heat custard beyond 165 degrees. If it does begin to curdle, remove from heat immediately and pour into a bowl set over a larger bowl of ice water to stop the cooking, and proceed with recipe. You can omit the brandy to make a non-alcoholic eggnog, but you should also decrease the cream to 1/4 cup in order to keep the right consistency. For the same reason, increase the cream to 3/4 cup if you choose to add another 1/2-cup alcohol for a high-test nog.
Instructions
- Whisk, eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in medium bowl until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds; set aside. Bring milk and salt to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
- When milk mixture comes to simmer, remove from heat and, whisking constantly, slowly pour into yolk mixture to temper. Return milk-yolk mixture to saucepan. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 160 to 165 degrees, 2 to 5 minutes.
- Immediately pour custard through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl; stir in liquor, vanilla and grated nutmeg. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, at least three hours and up to three days.
- Just before serving, using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip heavy cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Whisk whipped cream into chilled eggnog. Serve, garnished with extra nutmeg.
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