Dominican Rum Eggnog

Recipe inspiration:

“Ponche” or Eggnog, is a staple for every holiday season in the Dominican Republic. Some families have recipes with coconut milk, others have recipes that include guavas! Our family recipe is traditionally made with evaporated milk, which I substituted for Almond Milk in this recipe. Try to purchase one of the Dominican rum brands such as Brugal or Barcelo to get the full flavor effect!

Recipe ingredients:

For Eggnog:
5 cups Pacific Natural Foods Almond Milk
2 cups sweet condensed milk
4 egg yolks
1 cup Dominican Rum (Brugal or Barcelo)
Pinch of salt and cinnamon

For Meringue topping:
4 ounces egg whites
8 ounces sugar
½ tablespoon powdered cinnamon
Pinch of salt and nutmeg

Cooking instructions:

1. For eggnog: whisk the Almond Milk and condensed milk together. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks until pale in color.
2. Add milks to small saucepan and simmer softly; pour milk into yolks, whisking to make sure not to overcook yolks and pour back into saucepan. Stir with a wooden spoon until mixture coats the back of the spoon.
3. Season with salt and nutmeg to taste and cool over ice bath. Add rum when mixture is cooled. Reserve overnight.
4. For Meringue: place egg whites in electric mixer with whisk attachment. Reserve while you make the sugar syrup.
5. Place sugar in saucepan and add water until the sugar looks like WET SAND. Cook over medium high heat, making sure to brush down the sides of the pan so the sugar does not crystallize.
6. Start whipping egg whites slowly, watching your sugar.
7. Cook until it reaches soft ball stage (240F on a candy thermometer or when a spoon is dipped into it, you can drizzle a consistent strand from it).
8. When egg whites are soft peaks, add sugar syrup slowly down the side of the bowl. Make sure to not hit the whisk attachment to prevent sugar from crystallizing on the sides of the bowl. Whip on high for 5 minutes until satiny smooth. (Meringue must be made before serving, but will keep in the mixer whipping on low of a while.)
9. Add cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.
10. To serve: serve eggnog in small cordial glasses and top with meringue and a dash of cinnamon. Cheers!