Homemade Rich Cherry Eggnog

5 from 1 vote

Homemade Rich Cherry Eggnog

A cherry twist to your classic eggnog recipe. With red cherries and cherry liquor, this cooked cherry eggnog is a custard-base Christmas drink made with egg yolks, milk, and cream before adding liquor and leaving it to macerate until chilled.

Course Desserts

Cuisine American, European, UK

Keyword Cherry, Christmas, Drinks, Eggnog, Holidays

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Chilling time 2 hours

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings cups

Calories 539kcal

Author Veena Azmanov

Equipment

Ingredients

2 cups Whole Milk
1 cup Fresh cream
6 Egg yolks Large
½ cup White sugar
1 tsp Cornstarch
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
⅓ cup Cherry Liquor optional
10 Cherries fresh or frozen

Metric - US customary

Instructions

In a bowl combine the egg yolks, cornstarch, and sugar. Combine well with a whisk and set aside
In a saucepan over medium heat, heat milk on low with four cherries and vanilla to an almost boil. (Squish the cherries if you want to make it more pink)
Gradually add the hot milk to the egg yolk mixture, stirring continuously.
Return the mixture back to the saucepan. Continue to cook on a low simmer stirring continuously.
Cook until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon (about 160 F)
Remove from heat and add the cream and alcohol. Pour in a pitcher and chill for a few hours.
Pour in a jug and chill for a few hours before serving.
Pour into individual serving glasses. Top with fresh whipped cream (optional)
Add a cherry - Enjoy!

Notes

Warm or chilled - I have had both a well-chilled glass of eggnog as well as a warm spiced-eggnog on a cold Christmas night. It's hard for me to pick between the two.
Spiked or not spiked - there is a right time and place for spiked eggnog. I remember ten years ago when eggnog wasn't eggnog if I didn't add the alcohol in there. These days, it's usually not spiked, so the whole family can have the same drink. But Again if you have friends over - go ahead and add some liquor. It's an experience you will enjoy. (makes Christmas even better)
Cook or uncooked - This is always a controversy. I remember when my grandmother made eggnog she didn't cook it. Back in those days, they weren't afraid of raw eggs, but these days we can't think of drinking uncooked eggs. For me, it's always cooked eggnog. My mom did the same.
Fresh or fermented - Keeping the eggnog overnight to me is the best way to go. First, it makes it chilled, and we all love a well-chilled glass of eggnog. The other is that keeping the eggnog overnight helps mellow down the flavor of the alcohol. It's softer and smoother on the palette. I remember my grandmother's excuse for uncooked eggnog was that when kept overnight the strong alcohol cooked the eggs and also kills all the bacteria in there.
Dairy or non-dairy - Traditionally, eggnog is made with milk and cream, but you can make it with almond milk, coconut milk, and use coconut whipped cream. In fact, one of my absolute favorites eggnog cocktail among friends was my tropical eggnog - It used coconut milk, pineapple juice, and coconut cream with Malibu

Nutrition