Chef Joost
Advocaat (Dutch Egg Liqueur)
Advocaat is the Dutch liqueur you eat with a spoon: brandewijn, yolks and sugar turned into a glossy Easter glass, with a hat of slagroom and no apology.
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Zopie
Created by
The skater's cup from frozen Dutch canals: warm beer or wine, egg, sugar, rum and spice, ladled beside koek, cake, when the ice was thick enough to carry a village.
Beverages
Dutch
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
10 min
Active Time
10 min cook•20 min total
Yield4 small cups
Aproper Dutch winter used to announce itself by sound. Not the thermometer, not the weather report, but the first scrape of skates on natural ice, that long iron whisper across a canal. Then the stalls appeared: koek-en-zopie, cake and zopie, little wooden counters on the ice where you warmed your fingers around a cup and pretended you had only stopped for the children.
The name already tells you how modest this drink is. Zopie comes from zoopje, a small drink or little sip, and that is exactly its scale: not a grand punch bowl, not a tavern ceremony, just a hot cup passed to a skater between laps. But let me tell you a secret. The Dutch winter drink was never plain. Beer or wine, egg, sugar, rum, cinnamon, clove, sometimes lemon: a frugal country knew perfectly well how to put spice cargo into a tin ladle.
The only real trick is gentleness. Egg gives zopie its old-fashioned body, but egg is also proud and easily offended; boil it and you'll get sweet scrambled beer, for obvious reasons. So you warm the drink slowly, whisk, keep it below a simmer, and stop when it thickens enough to coat the spoon. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple. A cup, a biscuit, cold hands, and the whole canal for a dining room.
Koek-en-zopie stalls are documented on Dutch winter ice from at least the seventeenth century, when frozen canals and rivers became temporary roads, markets, and social rooms. Zopie itself was traditionally a warm alcoholic drink made with beer or wine, eggs, sugar, rum, and spices such as cinnamon and clove; the name derives from zoopje, a small drink or sip. The drink belongs to the culture of natural-ice skating, and every rare winter when the canals freeze hard enough, the phrase koek-en-zopie still returns to Dutch mouths almost before the skates are sharpened.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bock beer or light red wine
Quantity
500ml
large egg yolks
Quantity
2
dark brown sugar or lichte basterdsuiker
Quantity
50g
dark rum
Quantity
2 tablespoons
cinnamon stick
Quantity
1
cloves
Quantity
2
lemon peel
Quantity
1 strip
cut without white pith
fine salt
Quantity
pinch
freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
Quantity
a little
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bock beer or light red wine | 500ml |
| large egg yolks | 2 |
| dark brown sugar or lichte basterdsuiker | 50g |
| dark rum | 2 tablespoons |
| cinnamon stick | 1 |
| cloves | 2 |
| lemon peelcut without white pith | 1 strip |
| fine salt | pinch |
| freshly grated nutmeg (optional) | a little |
Equipment Needed
- •Small heavy-bottomed saucepan
- •Whisk
- •Heatproof mixing bowl
- •Ladle
Instructions
- 1
Infuse the drink
Pour the beer or wine into a small saucepan and add the cinnamon stick, cloves, lemon peel, and salt. Warm it gently until the surface looks lively at the edges but does not simmer. Give the spices five minutes to speak; if the liquid boils, the old winter cup turns harsh.
- 2
Whisk the yolks
In a heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and glossy, about two minutes. This is what gives zopie its body, not cream. The sugar also protects the yolks a little from the heat, which is useful, because eggs have never respected nostalgia.
- 3
Temper slowly
Remove the spices and lemon peel. While whisking constantly, pour a small ladle of the hot drink into the yolks, then add two more ladles the same way. This slow start keeps the egg smooth. Rush it and you'll taste your mistake in every cup.
- 4
Thicken gently
Pour the tempered mixture back into the saucepan and set it over low heat. Stir constantly for three to five minutes, until the zopie lightly coats the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil. Take it off the heat, stir in the rum, and taste for sugar.
- 5
Serve at once
Ladle into small cups and grate over a little nutmeg if you like. Serve with plain spice cake or speculaas. This is not a drink for lingering in the pot; it belongs in cold hands while the ice is still calling.
Chef Tips
- •Use bock beer for the older, maltier character, or a light red wine if you want the fruitier version. Both belong to the family; the canal was never as doctrinaire as cookbook writers.
- •Keep the heat low after the egg goes in. A thermometer is useful: stay below 75C, and the yolks thicken the drink without curdling.
- •For a family table, make a separate pan with apple juice, the same spices, lemon peel, and sugar, then leave out the egg and rum. It is no longer zopie in the old sense, but it keeps cold fingers included.
Advance Preparation
- •The beer or wine can be infused with the spices up to four hours ahead, then strained and kept covered; warm it again before adding the yolks.
- •Do not finish zopie far in advance. Once the egg is added, serve it straight away, because reheating invites curdling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 135g)
Calories
150 calories
Total Fat
2 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
90 mg
Sodium
55 mg
Total Carbohydrates
16 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
13 g
Protein
2 g
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