Our marketing specialist, Kendall, wears a number of hats, but one we appreciate from the bottom of our mugs is that of a caffeine connoisseur. Before WIlet, she was the Head Barista and Coffee Program Manager at Bel Cafe in Vancouver, Canada.
When she wasn't training baristas and liaising with suppliers, she was crafting menus—including mouthwatering and Insta-worthy seasonal beverages. We thought it perfect timing to ask her for a classic holiday favourite to spice up our 12 Days of Hosting Journal Series.
"Oat milk has always been my favourite alternative milk. It behaves the most like 'moo' in recipes, during steaming, and when pouring. It seemed like a natural progression for the classic Egg Nog recipe to take—making it dairy-free and accessible to more people. This mirrored the trend that we started to see across our entire drink menu, as more and more customers were opting for oat milk in their everyday coffee — a fairly up-and-coming alt milk in town at the time."
You'll need:
- 2L Oat milk: Any will do. However, if you opt for a "barista" one, skip the xanthan gum in the recipe—it’ll already be thicker than your average oat milk. *Fun fact! This is done during production to make it easier to create nice microfoam!
- 20g Maple syrup: Any will do, but I like to use a dark syrup. This is where the majority of your sweetness is coming from, so you can adjust this to taste.
- 50g Fig puree: I've also used mashed macerated figs that were soaked in bourbon.
- 6g Cinnamon (ground)
- 2g Nutmeg (ground)
- 2g Ginger (ground)
- 2g Xanthan gum
- Immersion blender
- Plastic pitcher: You're going to be blending everything in this.
- Spice grinder: If you're grinding the spices yourself.
- Large whisk
- Fine strainer
- Large pot
- Rubber spatula
Directions (makes 2L):
- Put your pot on the burner over medium/high heat. Add oat milk.
- Bring that to a gentle boil and add figs/fig jam/puree. Mix well with spatula.
- Add ground spices and maple syrup and mix well. Reduce the heat and let the flavours marry for 15 minutes. Occasionally stir.
- Assess the thickness of your nog. If it's a little thin, add your xanthan gum. Mix well until all lumps are gone. Let cook for ten minutes or so until your nog has visibly thickened.
- Let cool a little. Blend with immersion blender. This can either be done in the pot or you can pour it into the plastic container and blend.
- Place in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, pour nog through a fine mesh strainer.
- Date. Store in the fridge for up to 7 days.
- Can be served cold, steamed with some bourbon or something else delicious, or used in an oat nog latte.
Check back tomorrow for more seasonal tips and recipes during our 12 Days of Hosting series! Follow Wilet on Instagram and subscribe to our Newsletter to be the first notified for new launches, sales and exclusive perks.