Egg-Cellent Christmas Challenge

The good folks at McLean’s Run who are famous for their 'Open range' egg farms contacted me via One Green Bean with a Christmas challenge. Let me just say if I were an egg laying hen I'd like to be living on the McLean's farm with only 1500 hens per hectare. They told me that they would send me some free-range eggs fresh from the farm as long as I was willing to invigorate an old egg-based Christmas recipe with McLean’s Run eggs.

I could do that.

I was expecting a carton of eggs to be sent to my work but to my surprise this giant box came to the office.

For the rest of the train ride home I started to brain storm recipes that was 'very Christmas', not traditional, made with eggs and simple enough to make once I got home after work. I was pretty stuck

So then I broke it down, what’s very Christmas that’s made with eggs? Eggnog. Why isn’t it super popular here? Because it’s best served hot and Australia is sizzling at Christmas! My solution? Eggnog ice cream! Genius!

Eggnog Ice cream with Christmas Biscotti

Eggnog is basically a dairy based drink made with egg yolks and alcohol (brandy, rum or whisky) spiced with freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves (optional). I served my eggnog ice cream with an almond, pistachio and cranberry biscotti made with the left over egg whites (no wastage!).

Below is my recipe Enjoy!

______________________________________________________

Eggnog Ice Cream - Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks from McLean's Run free range eggs
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 vanilla pod
• 300ml milk
• 600ml cream
• 2 shots dark rum (or bourbon or whiskey)
• 2 cloves (optional)
• Cinnamon stick (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg grated
  

1. Separate egg yolks from egg whites
2. In a small pot whisk egg yolks, milk, sugar and vanilla until well combined.
3. Add 2 cloves and cinnamon stick and heat your custard until it starts to thicken, stirring as you go.
4. Once the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon pass the mixture through a fine sieve to get rid of the lumps and spices (i.e. cloves & cinnamon).
5. Allow the custard to cool completely (refrigerate if you can)
6. In a bowl combine the custard, cream, brandy and nutmeg.
7. I then churn this mixture through my ice cream maker as per the models instruction. If you do not have one then place the bowl in the freezer and after every 30-40mins take a fork to beat the mixture to get rid of any ice crystals. Repeat this step 4-5 more times before allowing it to freeze fully.
   

Ta-da!

As mentioned I didn’t want to waste the gorgeous egg whites and decided to pair the eggnog ice cream with an almond, pistachio and cranberry biscotti (a bit of green and red to add a bit of Christmas colour to my dish).

Almond, Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup plain flour
  
• 1/2 cup pistachios
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup cranberries
  

1. Beat egg whites to soft peaks then slowly add caster sugar.
2. Once combined fold in nuts, cranberries and flour sifted.
   
   
3. Pour mixture into a lined baking tin and bake at 150c for 30 minutes. Let this cool and wrap it up in foil, let the loaf 'dry out' in the fridge for 2 nights.

Slice the loaf really thinly (the thinner the crispier the result), place pieces on a lined baking tray and bake for 5-7 mins at 150c. Place on a rack to cool

And that is how you turn eggs yolks to custard and egg whites into biscotti. Simple, delicious and perfect for the holidays!