Advocaat (Dutch Egg Liqueur)

In my grandmother's second notebook, advocaat was not filed under drinks. It lived among Easter things: painted eggs in an old bowl, a cake under a cloth, and the small glasses brought from the cabinet only when children were told, with great seriousness, that this was for grown-ups. The adults did not sip it. They ate it with a spoon, because proper Dutch advocaat should be thick enough to make a little hill under its cap of slagroom, whipped cream.

But let me tell you a secret. The name is more troublesome than the drink. Advocaat means lawyer, and the old name advocatenborrel, lawyer's tipple, is usually explained as a soothing little glass for people who made their living with their throats. There is also the colonial avocado story, often tied to Suriname and Brazil, but the documents are less tidy than the tale. I won't sell you certainty where the archive gives only a raised eyebrow.

The cooking is honest and a little unforgiving only if you hurry it. Egg yolks thicken gently; alcohol makes them sulk if the heat is rude. So we use a bain-marie, a bowl over barely simmering water, and stir until the custard coats a spoon. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple: good brandewijn, fresh yolks, sugar, vanilla, patience. Then into the refrigerator, where it settles into exuberant cookery in a frugal country.