EZ Recipe: Grandma’s Hungarian Eggnog

As far back as I remember, homemade Hungarian eggnog was a staple of the holidays with the Hrachovina and the Newser sides of my family.  I am not sure what about the recipe makes it Hungarian, other than its origins from the Hungarian colony in Dayton where my grandmother grew up.  What I do know is that it is delicious by itself, with a splash of whiskey (How Grandma drinks it.), or in coffee.  EZ and I enjoy serving it at our holiday parties, and it is easy to prepare. Let’s start with the ingredients for 12-16 servings:

• 1 dozen eggs
• 2 one-pound boxes of powdered sugar
• Nutmeg for garnishing

See, really only two main ingredients. Once you have them assembled, grab your mixer, a whisk and two large bowls.  There are three basic techniques you will need to know before you start, mixing (we should all have this one), separating egg yolks from whites, and folding. Chef John Mitzewich covers the latter two in his delightful YouTube video below.

I included that video because my grandmother reminds me every time I mention eggnog of the one time I mixed instead fold the whites into the yolks, and that we had to start all over.

****Note: If you want to drink eggnog as soon as you finish, then you should start boiling water in your kettle now, unless you have one of those fancy electric kettles that always has hot water ready.

1. In two large bowls, separate the egg whites and yolks, using your preferred method. (I use my hands because I find it is a little faster.)
   * This step is crucial, and under no circumstances can any yolk be allowed to mix with the whites. (Grandma also made me start over for messing this up.)
2. Beat the egg yolks until they are blended, but not until they are frothy and bubbly. I recommend using a whisk here because you don’t want to clean the mixer before your next step.
3. Using a mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff. This will take about 5 minutes or so.
4. Gradually add 1 box of powdered sugar to the egg yolks, and use the whisk to mix.
5. Gradually add 1 box of powdered sugar to the egg whites, and use the mixer to once again beat until stiff.
6. Now we fold.  For this recipe, I do not recommend mixing in any egg whites with the yolks before folding. Simply fold the whites into the yolks until it has a constant color and texture, and you are almost done.
7. Scoop some of the eggnog into the bottom of a coffee mug or tea-cup, add hot water, and stir until frothy and foamy at the top.  The ratio will depend on your sweet tooth.  Do not go less than 1 part eggnog batter to 2 parts water, but EZ prefers 1 to 1.
8. Sprinkle with nutmeg, and serve.

If you want to drink it like my grandmother, as a Tom & Jerry, add a splash of whiskey before you scoop in the eggnog mixture in step 7.

For storage, we just cover the bowl with plastic wrap, if it doesn’t have a lid, and we place it in the fridge.  Depending on how long it sits before serving, we do a little folding before we scoop.

Let us know what you think in the comments below.