Eggnog, rather divisive isn’t it? A drink you either love or hate, I have always thought that it’s name doesn’t do it any favours. Nog, believed to come from “noggin” meaning a wooden cup, isn’t winning any literary beauty pageants.

I’m sure if we called it, magical Christmas drinking custard, it would be a firm favourite.

It’s rich and creamy and with a little practice, it’s easy to make perfectly each time.

The silken mixture of beaten egg yolks, cream and whiskey or rum, is served chilled and in our home, topped with extra whipped cream and cinnamon.

Once you have the knack of tempering the eggs, the rest is simple. The art of slowly adding hot liquid to raise the temperature is something my grandmother taught me as a child on the coast of South Africa. The very British tradition of eggnog had not infiltrated the sweltering hot summers of Durban, but we would make “Milk Tart” a cinnamon topped set custard nestled in a buttery shortcrust base, traditionally eaten ice cold on a hot day with sweet tea.

For my eggnog recipe, you warm up a mixture of milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg and then slowly add that mixture to whisked egg yolks until completely combined. If you whisk the yolks straight into the saucepan, you’ll end up with some lumpy egg curds.

Once you temper your egg yolk-milk mixture, you return it to the stove and cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If you have a sugar thermometer, it should reach 160º C

Whiskey or rum is the question, both taste delicious, rum tends to be a little sweeter. I typically raid the drinks cabinet for a good whiskey. You can make a child friendly version with less or no whiskey, Pagan always felt most grown up being offered a sip with just the slightest hint of whiskey and it was tradition, to leave Santa some eggnog and biscuits on Christmas eve.