Spiced rum eggnog

A festive tipple full of traditional spices served with Christmas sparkle

Eggnog evolved in medieval Britain, most likely from a hot milky drink called posset. There are various theories surrounding the name, one being that ‘nog’ – a derivative of ‘noggin’, a Middle English term for a small carved wooden mug used to serve alcohol – was tagged on to the end of ‘egg’, a key ingredient in the recipe.

If you don’t want to use alcohol, you can simply leave it out and the recipe will still work. This recipe serves six.

Spiced rum eggnog

6 medium free-range eggs, separated
150g golden caster sugar, plus 1 teaspoon
500ml whole milk
400ml whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
250ml spiced rum
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus extra

To decorate:
6 cinnamon sticks
6 star anise

• Whisk the eggs in a large bowl with the 150g of sugar, until the mixture is fully blended. Stir in the milk and 300ml of the cream, then add the vanilla essence, spiced rum and nutmeg. Give a thorough whisk, but stop when it begins to froth. Pour into a large jug and set aside.
• Using a whisk, whip the remaining 100ml of cream with the teaspoon of sugar until peaks form. Add it to the set aside mixture and whisk together until blended. Place in the fridge for 2–3 hours.
• Remove from the fridge and, using a large spoon, skim off the whipped cream – this will have gathered flavour and risen to the top of the jug during refrigeration – and gently place on a cold plate.
• Decant the mixture into your glasses and gently spoon the whipped cream onto the top of each drink. Poke a cinnamon stick into the cream (the cream will help to hold it in place), add a star anise and sprinkle with extra nutmeg.

Note: If you want to make this a more instant drink, then skip refrigerating the mixture and go straight to pouring it into glasses – over ice if you want it chilled – and add a dollop of the freshly whipped cream to the top of each one before decorating.

Styling tip

Serve in vintage French jam jars (Decorative Country Living) with a sprinkle of edible silver stars on top for a magical festive touch.