Eierpunsch: Creamy white wine egg punch thickened with yolks alone

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Infuse the wine

   15 min

   Pour the wine into a saucepan, add the cinnamon stick, cloves, and lemon zest, and heat until almost boiling, but do not let it boil. Remove from the heat, let steep for 10 minutes, then strain through a sieve.

2. Whisk the yolks

   5 min

   In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla sugar until pale, thick, and foamy.

3. Add the wine

   5 min

   Whisking constantly, pour the warm wine into the yolks in a thin stream to keep them from curdling. Add the lemon juice.

4. Thicken the punch

   10 min

   Place the saucepan over low heat and warm the punch, whisking constantly, for 5–8 minutes, until thick and foamy. Do not let it boil; if you have a thermometer, 75 °C (167 °F) is enough.

5. Serve

   5 min

   Immediately pour the punch into heatproof glasses and dust with a pinch of ground cinnamon.

Tip: Drink the punch right away, as the foam will collapse as it sits. If it starts to curdle, remove the pot from the heat and whisk vigorously for a few seconds until smooth again. Read more: Frozen lemons: why to freeze them and use the peel

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Krémový vaječný punč s bielym vínom: Eierpunsch z vianočných trhov, ktorý zahustia iba žĺtky