Engelchen liqueur is one of the few winter liqueurs we measure in minutes rather than weeks. While hazelnut liqueur or speculoos liqueur need time to steep, this one is ready to drink in 10 minutes. The reason is the white chocolate: it melts at 50°C into a smooth emulsion with the cream and binds the Amaretto without any resting phase. No waiting, no straining, no steeping.
We have been making this liqueur for years as a quick gift to bring to Christmas parties. While other liqueurs need days to mature, you can start this one in the morning and give it away the same evening. That only works because the chocolate acts as an emulsifier and the cream binds the alcohol straight away.
Quick Engelchen Liqueur with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 6 ✓
- 200 g white chocolate
- 80 g sugar
- 30 g vanilla sugar
- 1 egg
- 650 g double cream
- 350 g Amaretto
Instructions 0 / 5
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1
Melt the chocolate.
Break the chocolate into pieces, place in the mixing bowl and chop for 5 seconds / speed 8. Scrape down with the spatula and melt for 3 minutes / 50°C / speed 2.
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2
Mix in the remaining ingredients.
Add the sugar, vanilla sugar and egg and mix for 5 seconds / speed 4.
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3
Add the cream and heat.
Add the double cream and heat for 5 minutes / 80°C / speed 2.
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4
Add the Amaretto.
Set to 2 minutes / speed 2 and slowly pour the Amaretto through the lid opening.
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5
Bottle and chill.
Fill the liqueur into sterilised bottles, leave to cool and store in the fridge.
Tip: Serve your quick Engelchen liqueur poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream 😉
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why white chocolate and not couverture
White chocolate has a higher fat content than couverture and melts at a lower temperature. This matters because the raw egg must not be heated above 80°C. Couverture often needs 60°C to melt completely, while white chocolate only needs 50°C. The difference sounds small, but it determines whether the egg sets or stays creamy.
Ordinary white chocolate from the supermarket actually works better here than expensive couverture. It often contains less cocoa butter and more stabilisers, which keep the liqueur homogeneous for longer. With couverture, a thin layer of fat can separate after a few days.
Speed 8 to chop the chocolate, speed 2 to melt it
The chocolate must be finely chopped before melting. Speed 8 for 5 seconds produces even splinters that melt completely at 50°C. If you only break the chocolate roughly and melt it straight away, pieces remain that will not dissolve later.
After chopping, scrape everything down with the spatula. Otherwise the splinters stick to the wall and melt unevenly. 3 minutes at 50°C and speed 2 is enough. A higher temperature makes the chocolate grainy; a lower one leaves it lumpy.
The egg goes into the melted chocolate
The raw egg is stirred into the still-warm chocolate mixture at 5 seconds / speed 4, not the other way around. The chocolate gently brings the egg up to temperature before the hot cream is added. If you add the egg directly to hot cream, it sets immediately and the liqueur turns grainy.
The sugar and vanilla sugar go in at the same time as the egg. Both dissolve completely in the warm chocolate mixture and prevent the egg from forming lumps. Vanilla sugar made from real vanilla pods works noticeably better here than vanillin sugar.
80°C for the cream is essential
The cream is heated to exactly 80°C, no more and no less. At this temperature the raw egg is pasteurised without setting. Below 75°C there is a risk of salmonella; above 85°C the egg white curdles and the liqueur turns flaky.
5 minutes at speed 2 keeps the temperature stable. Reverse direction is not needed here because the mixture is already homogeneous. The cream combines with the chocolate and egg mixture to form a stable emulsion that will not separate even after weeks.
Add the Amaretto slowly through the lid opening
The Amaretto must not be poured into the hot mixture all at once. Alcohol evaporates above 78°C, and if you add 350 g in one go, you immediately lose part of the aroma as vapour. Pouring it slowly through the lid opening while the machine runs at speed 2 lets the alcohol bind before it can evaporate.
2 minutes of running time is enough to incorporate the full quantity evenly. The Amaretto contributes not only alcohol but also almond flavour, which enhances the white chocolate. Other almond liqueurs work technically but often have less body.
Bottle immediately, chill immediately
The liqueur is poured into sterilised bottles straight after blending and placed in the fridge. Cooling in the mixing bowl takes too long and leaves the emulsion unstable. The faster the liqueur drops from 80°C to below 10°C, the creamier it stays.
In the fridge the liqueur keeps easily for 4 weeks. The alcohol content is around 14 per cent, which is enough as a preservative. Without refrigeration the fat phase separates within a few days; with refrigeration it stays homogeneous.
Serve over vanilla ice cream
The liqueur is sweet, creamy and has 14 per cent alcohol. Neat, it can quickly become too rich. We serve it poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which makes it more drinkable and stretches one portion between two people. The cold of the ice cream brings out the almond flavour even more.
It also works as an ingredient in hot chocolate. 50 ml of liqueur stirred into 200 ml of hot milk makes a marzipan cocoa. The chocolate in the liqueur dissolves in the hot milk and intensifies the cocoa flavour.
Goes well with: Waffles, chocolate cake and Tiramisu.
Find more winter liqueur recipes here: Thermomix® liqueur recipes, egg liqueur, speculoos liqueur.
