This Angel Punch is served hot. That sounds obvious, but it is not quite so simple when there are 150 g of advocaat in the mix. We explain why the recipe works in two temperature stages and what happens if you add the advocaat too early into liquid that is too hot.
Quick summary if you are in a hurry: add 400 g milk, 150 g double cream, 50 g sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp gingerbread spice and 1/2 tsp cinnamon to the mixing bowl and heat for 7 min / 80°C / speed 1. Then, and only then, add the 150 g advocaat and stir through for 3 min / 70°C / speed 1. Pour into punch glasses, top with squirty cream and cinnamon, and serve immediately. That makes 4 cups in 15 minutes.
Stir advocaat into boiling liquid and you get flakes instead of punch. Advocaat contains egg yolk, and egg yolk curdles above 80°C. The recipe solves this with two separate steps: first the Thermomix® heats the milk and cream base with vanilla, gingerbread spice and cinnamon to 80°C. The temperature then drops briefly before the advocaat is stirred in at 70°C. Ten degrees sounds like a small difference, but it is the line between silky smooth and curdled. That is exactly why we do not simply heat everything together, even though it would be faster.
Angel Punch with Advocaat, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 8 ✓
- 400 g milk
- 150 g double cream
- 50 g sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp gingerbread spice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 150 g advocaat
- 250 g squirty cream
Instructions 0 / 2
-
1
Mix the ingredients.
Add milk, double cream, sugar, vanilla extract, gingerbread spice and cinnamon to the mixing bowl and heat for 7 min / 80°C / speed 1.
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2
Add the advocaat and serve.
Add the advocaat and mix for 3 min / 70°C / speed 1. Pour into punch glasses, garnish with squirty cream and a little cinnamon, and serve immediately.
Tip: To cut a few calories, replace the double cream with milk.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why the Thermomix® stops the advocaat from curdling
On the hob that is precisely the problem: you stir, glance away for a moment, and the milk and cream base shoots from 80°C to 90°C. Add the advocaat then and you have scrambled egg in a glass. In the Thermomix® the temperature stays constant. We set 80°C, the machine holds 80°C, not a degree more. That temperature control is the one point where the Thermomix® makes a real difference here.
There is also the gentle stir setting. Speed 1 moves the liquid evenly without breaking down the cream or whipping the advocaat into foam. Many online recipes warn that advocaat curdles from 60°C upwards and recommend 40 to 50°C. That is true for raw egg yolk. Commercially made advocaat is already pasteurised and stabilised with alcohol and sugar, so our 70°C poses no problem and the punch still arrives genuinely hot in the glass. Over hundreds of cups we have never had it curdle, as long as we kept the second stage below 70°C.
The golden colour comes not from the sugar but from the advocaat itself. The richer the liqueur, the deeper the colour. Using a homemade version gives you more control: our Thermomix® advocaat is the base we reach for most often with this punch. If you do not want to discard egg whites, we also have an advocaat made with whole eggs. For a chocolate variation, the chocolate advocaat works beautifully.
Where Angel Punch most often goes wrong
The second stage is set too hot
By far the most common mistake: turning the temperature back up to 90°C or 100°C after adding the advocaat because you want the punch hotter. That is exactly when the egg yolk curdles and the cup turns flaky.
Our fix: Once the advocaat is in the bowl, the temperature stays at 70°C. If the punch does not feel hot enough when serving, warm the cups beforehand instead (fill with hot water, then pour it out) rather than pushing the base temperature higher.
The advocaat goes in too early
Adding all the ingredients to the mixing bowl at once and heating to 80°C sends the advocaat through the critical zone above 80°C. The result is fine egg-white flecks that settle on the sides of the glass.
Our fix: Follow the two steps strictly. First heat the milk and cream base without advocaat to 80°C, then stir in the advocaat at 70°C. If flakes do appear: pour the punch through a fine sieve and it can often be rescued.
Too much sugar because the advocaat is already sweet
150 g of advocaat already brings a good deal of sweetness. Add the full 50 g of sugar on top of a very sweet liqueur and the cup becomes almost cloying.
Our fix: With homemade or heavily sweetened advocaat we start with 30 g of sugar and taste at the end. Adding more is always possible; taking it out is not.
The gingerbread spice sets the character
The gingerbread spice shapes the character of the punch more than the cinnamon. With homemade spice you notice the difference straight away because the essential oils from freshly ground cloves, anise and cardamom are still present. If you do not have gingerbread spice to hand, replace it with a generous amount of cinnamon plus a pinch of cardamom and cloves.
Over the years we have tried a few variations that all work from the basic recipe:
- Extra cream: 100 g more double cream and 100 g less milk. The result is noticeably richer and more filling, great as a dessert in a glass.
- Chocolate Angel: add 1 heaped tbsp of cocoa powder to the base in step 1. Tastes like a hot chocolate with an advocaat note.
- Alcohol-free for children: use alcohol-free advocaat, everything else stays the same. Makes the punch suitable for the whole family.
- Orange note: warm the zest of half an unwaxed orange in step 1, then sieve before serving. Adds freshness against the sweetness.
- Licor 43 instead of vanilla extract: add 20 g of Licor 43 in step 2, so the vanilla flavour is preserved rather than cooked off.
Cream, garnish and what we serve alongside
The milk and cream base can be prepared up to two days in advance and kept in the fridge. When reheating, bring it to 80°C first, let it cool briefly, then add the advocaat at 70°C. Fresh squirty cream or hand-whipped cream from the Thermomix® goes on only at the moment of serving. If you want to whip your own cream: whipping cream in the Thermomix® is quicker than you think. Rinse the bowl with cold water beforehand and make sure the cream is well chilled, otherwise it will not hold.
When it comes to presenting the punch, a swirl of cream, a pinch of cinnamon and a cinnamon stick as a stirrer turn each cup into a small Advent ritual. We like to serve this punch alongside gingerbread biscuits and Christmas cookies because the spices in the glass and in the baking complement each other. If you are looking for a Christmas punch without advocaat, we have a Thermomix® Snow Punch with a completely different base, and for a classic warm infusion there is also an Egg Punch with cinnamon.
How long the punch keeps and how to reheat it
Angel Punch tastes best fresh from the mixing bowl. Leftovers keep in the fridge for just under a day, after which the cream and advocaat lose their freshness. To reheat, return the punch to the mixing bowl and heat for 5 min / 70°C / speed 1, back on the gentle setting so nothing curdles.
We do not recommend freezing. The emulsion of cream and advocaat breaks when thawed and the punch turns flaky and separates. If you want to prepare ahead, make the milk and cream base without the advocaat instead. That keeps reliably for two days in the fridge.
