Eierlikör

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heatproof mixing bowl
• •Saucepan for water bath
• •Digital thermometer
• •Whisk or silicone spatula
• •Fine sieve
• •Funnel
• •Two clean 500ml bottles

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the bath

   Wash two small bottles and rinse them with boiling water, then let them drain while you work. Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of water that trembles gently and does not touch the bowl. Direct heat grabs egg yolk too fast; the water bath gives you time to thicken the liqueur before it turns grainy.

   Use a thermometer. Guessing is how Eierlikör becomes sweet scrambled egg, and nobody needs that lesson twice.
2. 2

   Beat the yolks

   Whisk the yolks, icing sugar, vanilla, and salt in the bowl until pale, thick, and smooth. The sugar starts dissolving into the yolks and cushions them before the heat arrives, so the mixture thickens cleanly instead of forming little cooked flecks.

3. 3

   Warm the base

   Whisk in the cream and Kondensmilch, then set the bowl over the water bath and stir constantly with a whisk or silicone spatula until the base reaches 70C and coats the back of a spoon, about 8 to 12 minutes. Runter mit der Temperatur if the water starts jumping. At 70C the yolks thicken the drink and the heat has done its safety work; much past 75C and the proteins tighten into curds.

4. 4

   Add the spirit

   Take the bowl off the heat and let the base cool for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice so the surface stays smooth. Whisk in the rum or Korn slowly, a splash at a time. The spirit goes in off the heat because hard heat drives away aroma and alcohol, and a sudden pour can loosen the emulsion before it settles.

5. 5

   Strain and bottle

   Pass the Eierlikör through a fine sieve into a jug, then funnel it into the clean bottles and leave a little space at the top. Straining catches any cooked speck before it reaches the glass; this is liqueur, not custard with surprises. Chill it at least 12 hours before serving, because it thickens and rounds out in the cold. Das braucht seine Zeit.

6. 6

   Serve it cold

   Shake the bottle well and pour the Eierlikör cold into small glasses, or spoon it over vanilla ice cream, Gugelhupf, or an Easter Osterlamm cake. If it thickens too much after a day, shake in a spoon of the same spirit, not milk, because milk lowers the strength and shortens its keeping. Keep it refrigerated and use it within 2 to 3 weeks.

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh eggs and separate them cleanly. Alcohol does not make raw egg safe the instant it touches it, so heat the base to 70C and don't skip the thermometer.
• •Use a spirit strong enough to matter. A 54% rum or high-proof Korn gives the liqueur proper keeping strength; a mild 36% Weinbrand tastes good but makes a softer, shorter-keeping bottle.
• •Shake before every pour. Eierlikör thickens in the cold and the fat settles slightly, so the bottle needs a firm shake to pour smooth again.
• •Keep it in the refrigerator. This is egg and cream, not a pantry preserve, no matter how much your aunt insists her bottle lived in a cupboard until Pentecost.

Advance Preparation

• •Make Eierlikör 1 to 2 days ahead if you can. The vanilla and spirit settle into the yolk base overnight, and the texture becomes thicker and cleaner.
• •Store refrigerated and use within 2 to 3 weeks. Shake well before serving, and thin only with a little of the same spirit if the bottle becomes too thick to pour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)