original recipe
serves 12
Ingredients
Cake:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup prepared eggnog (or see notes for recipe)
2 tablespoons bourbon whiskey
Frosting: (makes too much, consider halving)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups prepared eggnog (or see notes for recipe)
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon rum-flavored extract
1/8 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
If making cake: Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
If making cupcakes, place cupcake wrappers (standard or mini) in a cupcake pan.
Beat 1/2 cup butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add eggs, one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into butter mixture before adding the next. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon lemon peel, mixing well.
Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Pour flour mixture into the batter alternately with 1 cup eggnog, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in bourbon.
If making cake, divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
Bake in preheated oven until cake springs back when touched lightly with a fingertip or a
toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes (test both cake layers).
Cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting on a wire rack to cool completely.
If making cupcakes, portion the batter into cupcake wrappers and
bake accordingly: standard cupcakes bake for 18 min, mini cupcakes bake
for 15 minutes.
Frosting
To make frosting, combine 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups eggnog, whisking until smooth.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. When mixture boils, cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool completely to room temperature.
Beat 1 cup butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in cooled eggnog mixture, 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, rum extract, and 1/8 teaspoon grated lemon peel. Beat on high speed until mixture is fully incorporated and frosting is fluffy.
Cake Construction
Spread cake with plain frosting between cake layers, over the top and on the sides. Coat the sides with toasted pecans, pressing the nuts onto sides in small handfuls. Refrigerate until serving time.
For cupcakes, spread frosting on the cupcakes, or pipe it with a pastry bag.
Showing posts with label eggnog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eggnog. Show all posts
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Friday, January 17, 2014
Alton Brown's Nog of the Ages
http://mentalfloss.com/article/31813/alton-brown-history-eggnog
ALTON BROWN’S NOG OF AGES
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2012
12 large chicken eggs (see note)
1 pound sugar
1 pint half n half (see the other note)
1 pint whole milk
1 pint heavy cream
1 cup jamaican rum
1 cup cognac
1 cup bourbon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (plus more for serving)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
• Separate the eggs and store the whites for another purpose
• Beat the yolks with the sugar and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl until the mixture lightens in color and falls off the whisk in a solid “ribbon.”
• Combine dairy, booze, and salt in a second bowl or pitcher and then slowly beat into the egg mixture.
• Move to a large glass jar (or a couple of smaller ones) and store in the fridge for a minimum of 2 weeks. A month would be better, and two better still. In fact, there’s nothing that says you couldn’t age it a year but I’ve just never been able to wait that long.
• Serve in mugs or cups topped with a little extra nutmeg grated right on top.
Note on eggs: Although my research tells me it’s very likely the alcohol will kill off any microbial baddies present from the eggs, if you have any doubts at all or if you’re going to be serving the elderly or someone with an immune disorder, buy yourself some peace of mind and simply use pasteurized shell eggs. They’re available these days at most mega-marts.
Note on dairy: I’m super picky about the texture of my eggnog and find that the combination listed gets me what I’m looking for. That said, if you don’t want to bother (or if you’re not as picky) just go with a quart of half and half and call it a day.
And one more note: Yeah, it’s a lot of booze but the longer the nog ages, the more mellow it will get.
History of Nog
Eggnog is technically stirred custard—a mixture of dairy and eggs. It’s almost identical to ice cream, except that in most cases it contains too much alcohol to freeze.
• Although it can be cooked to kill off any possible salmonella and to thicken the mix, such thermal activity also deactivates the egg enzymes that give “real” eggnog its je ne sais quoi.
• As far back as the late 17th century, the term “nog” referred to a style of strong beer brewed in East Anglia, while a “noggin” was a small cup or mug that could be used for imbibing nog.
• Most culinary anthropologists believe modern eggnog descended from a thick, boozy, late-medieval concoction called posset that was composed of hot milk and hooch enhanced with whatever spice the lord of the castle had on hand.
• Egg-based drinks found new popularity in the American colonies, where nearly everyone had access to cows, chickens, and rum.
Nutritious and relatively stable, eggnog was our first health drink. If you ask me, sipping it is our patriotic duty.
• Although bourbon is the modern nog spirit, rum was the liquor of choice in colonial days.
• Today’s serious nogsters are into aging. After nog spends six months to a year in the fridge, a curious chemical collusion takes place as egg proteins, alcohol, and milk sugars slowly join forces. The resulting elixir tastes not of eggs, milk, sugar, or booze but simply of eggnog.
• Don’t worry too much about safety. As long as your brew contains at least 20 percent alcohol and is stored below 40°F for at least a month, any microbial nasties that might haunt your innards should be nice and dead.
ALTON BROWN’S NOG OF AGES
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2012
12 large chicken eggs (see note)
1 pound sugar
1 pint half n half (see the other note)
1 pint whole milk
1 pint heavy cream
1 cup jamaican rum
1 cup cognac
1 cup bourbon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (plus more for serving)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
• Separate the eggs and store the whites for another purpose
• Beat the yolks with the sugar and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl until the mixture lightens in color and falls off the whisk in a solid “ribbon.”
• Combine dairy, booze, and salt in a second bowl or pitcher and then slowly beat into the egg mixture.
• Move to a large glass jar (or a couple of smaller ones) and store in the fridge for a minimum of 2 weeks. A month would be better, and two better still. In fact, there’s nothing that says you couldn’t age it a year but I’ve just never been able to wait that long.
• Serve in mugs or cups topped with a little extra nutmeg grated right on top.
Note on eggs: Although my research tells me it’s very likely the alcohol will kill off any microbial baddies present from the eggs, if you have any doubts at all or if you’re going to be serving the elderly or someone with an immune disorder, buy yourself some peace of mind and simply use pasteurized shell eggs. They’re available these days at most mega-marts.
Note on dairy: I’m super picky about the texture of my eggnog and find that the combination listed gets me what I’m looking for. That said, if you don’t want to bother (or if you’re not as picky) just go with a quart of half and half and call it a day.
And one more note: Yeah, it’s a lot of booze but the longer the nog ages, the more mellow it will get.
History of Nog
Eggnog is technically stirred custard—a mixture of dairy and eggs. It’s almost identical to ice cream, except that in most cases it contains too much alcohol to freeze.
• Although it can be cooked to kill off any possible salmonella and to thicken the mix, such thermal activity also deactivates the egg enzymes that give “real” eggnog its je ne sais quoi.
• As far back as the late 17th century, the term “nog” referred to a style of strong beer brewed in East Anglia, while a “noggin” was a small cup or mug that could be used for imbibing nog.
• Most culinary anthropologists believe modern eggnog descended from a thick, boozy, late-medieval concoction called posset that was composed of hot milk and hooch enhanced with whatever spice the lord of the castle had on hand.
• Egg-based drinks found new popularity in the American colonies, where nearly everyone had access to cows, chickens, and rum.
Nutritious and relatively stable, eggnog was our first health drink. If you ask me, sipping it is our patriotic duty.
• Although bourbon is the modern nog spirit, rum was the liquor of choice in colonial days.
• Today’s serious nogsters are into aging. After nog spends six months to a year in the fridge, a curious chemical collusion takes place as egg proteins, alcohol, and milk sugars slowly join forces. The resulting elixir tastes not of eggs, milk, sugar, or booze but simply of eggnog.
• Don’t worry too much about safety. As long as your brew contains at least 20 percent alcohol and is stored below 40°F for at least a month, any microbial nasties that might haunt your innards should be nice and dead.
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