Christmas isn’t Christmas without plum pudding, mince pies and crucially, eggnog. Nothing is quite as redolent of the Yuletide spirit as that decadent cream-rich punch, fragrant with the heady heat of nutmeg and smoky bourbon. I love serving it, but the problem is that guests usually decline, finding it rather heavy as a pre-dinner drink and too much like an alcoholic milkshake to pair finger food with.

Determined not to deny guests (or ourselves!) this quintessential taste of Christmas cheer, I’ve found ways to insert eggnog into the evening in different guises. This festive, hearty cocktail gets its unique taste from the combination of milk, cream, whisked eggs, sugar, generous slugs of bourbon or rum and nutmeg — that exquisite warm spice we know so well. Heating the cream (or cream and milk), eggs and sugar to form a light custard, generously laced with alcohol and flecked with nutmeg, creates a base for a range of delicious desserts that sing of the season. I’ve used it to fill little cases of choux pastry to make Christmassy profiteroles (you can fill tart shells with it too). It has starred in a delicious, grown-up trifle pudding in layered combination with orange jelly and leftover Christmas cake that’s been soaked in bourbon, and served in jam jars. Or pour it warmed over cinnamon ice cream and you have another winner. In fact, there’s really no end to the ways of using this festive custard.

However, my favourite eggnog creation — because it’s a big dessert that’s fabulously festive yet unbelievably easy to assemble — is my eggnog panettone pudding. This pairs two Christmas favourites, eggnog and that sweet, fondant-filled, dried-fruit studded Italian Christmas bread to create a rich, warm dessert that provides all the soul-satisfying pleasure of traditional bread pudding, and yet it is most definitely not nursery food. The bourbon breathing eggnog lifts it into the unmistakeable A-rated realm of a sophisticated dessert.

So this season, make eggnog part of your entertaining: greet guests with tiny shot glasses of this classic punch; or let it work its magic on your dessert counter. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eggnog Panettone Pudding (serves 10)

Ingredients

* 1 large loaf panettone or any currant loaf

* 8 eggs

* 4 cups full-cream milk

* 1 cup sugar (less if the panettone is particularly sweet)

* Bourbon or rum

* Nutmeg grated (to taste)

Method

1 Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Butter a large baking dish.

2 Slice the panettone, place in the baking dish and pour enough bourbon to cover. Leave for about 30 minutes till the alcohol is absorbed.

3 Meanwhile, whisk together milk, eggs and sugar and a generous pinch of nutmeg. Pour over soaked panettone.

4 Bake for about 30 minutes or until the custard has set and the bread is beginning to peek through its gorgeous white blanket.

5 Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve warm.

( Arundhati Rayis a Kolkata-based food writer )

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