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Winter

Tom and Jerry, Heirloom recipe

by:
December 19, 2013
5
2 Ratings
  • Makes Enough for a party
Author Notes

My family has been drinking Tom and Jerry for five generations. —Sarah Elton

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Ingredients
  • Batter
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 pound powdered sugar, or as much as you need
  • Fresh nutmeg for grating
  • To spike your drink
  • 1/3 cup brandy
  • 1/3 cup light rum
  • 1/3 cup dark rum
Directions
  1. Separate egg whites from yolks and set aside the yolks. In a medium bowl, whip egg whites until firm and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks. Add cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon and blend well.
  3. Beat in as much powdered sugar as possible until your mixture is almost too stiff to beat.
  4. Fold in the beaten egg whites until well combined.
  5. Combine the three spirits in a carafe.
  6. Assemble the cocktail when your guests arrive. Heat some full fat milk on the stove until scalding hot (in my family they say the hot milk cooks the raw egg but I'm not so sure of that). You know your milk is hot enough if it develops a thick skin. In my family, we consider the skin to be a delicacy and almost fight to be the one to eat it.
  7. Spoon about two tablespoonfuls of batter into a mug. If you want to spike your drink, add about an ounce of the spirit mixture. Then pour the scalding milk over the batter and stir well.
  8. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
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Sarah Elton is the author of Consumed: Food for a Finite Planet published by the University of Chicago Press and Locavore. Her new book for people 10 years plus, titled Starting from Scratch: Everything you need to know about food and cooking, will be published in March.

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13 Reviews

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Jens01 April 23, 2014
You can still get these every winter in several bars in Buffalo, NY
I also have a Black Hall Tom & Jerry bowl with matching cups - Can't make it till after the first snow. Wonderful stuff!
Allysooon January 1, 2014
My grandma and aunt used to drink these (and get silly) during our annual holiday cookie baking marathons. I can't wait to carry on the tradition for my generation and toast to Grandma Bea!
Robin A. December 31, 2013
We used to make this every New Year's Eve but from the mix and with Jack Daniels. They do go down easy. I will try the heirloom recipe. Can't wait.
Lexie M. December 31, 2013
Wow my grandma made this for me when I wasn't feeling well. Loved it..Thanks for the recipe
Helen0408 December 31, 2013
What are powdered cloves? Same as ground?
Sarah E. December 31, 2013
Yes! You can pulverize them with a mortar and pestle or buy them ground.
MaryAlice December 30, 2013
That is the one I've been looking for. My dad made it every Holiday season. Thank you very much.
Amy S. December 30, 2013
So then how does someone use the tom and jerry bowl? Is it like a hot punch? Or do you spoon the batter from that into mugs? That seems unlikely.
Sarah E. December 31, 2013
The Tom and Jerry bowl is filled with batter in the kitchen. Then you can bring it out and put it on display, making the drinks in front of your guests. Drop a few tablespoonfuls of the batter into a mug, add the scalding hot milk and mix, garnish with nutmeg and serve. Each drink is mixed individually in the mug to ensure it stays hot. My grandmother always kept one pot of milk heating on the stove and another on a hotplate in the dining room, beside the Tom and Jerry bowl where my grandfather would be mixing the drinks. Hope this helps!
souptastic December 30, 2013
Do you beat the powdered sugar into the yolks or the whites?
Laura R. December 30, 2013
It appears you beat it into the yolks and then fold in the whites.
Sarah E. December 31, 2013
That's correct. Beat sugar into yolks and then fold in the whites.
Sheri I. December 30, 2013
Finally! My grandmother used to make this when I was a kid. All these years, whenever it comes to mind and I mention this to others, no one has ever heard of it. So nice to know it does exist! Thanks for the recipe, I will definitely try it.