So old-fashioned and so delicious: make your own advocaat

Advocaat: do you immediately picture those little glasses filled with yellow custard, topped with a swirl of whipped cream from a can, being devoured by wrinkly grandmas? Exactly right, but from now on you’ll understand why those ladies sit there spooning it up in such blissful satisfaction. Homemade advocaat is both wonderfully old-fashioned and absolutely delicious.

The thick advocaat from a bottle at the liquor store is usually really sweet, fairly chemical-tasting and, because of the alcohol, has a sharp flavor. If you make advocaat yourself, it can be much tastier. For example, you can use a different alcohol than the standard brandy. What do you think of advocaat made with young jenever? Or vodka? Exactly—time to get started.

How to make advocaat

• You need to heat the advocaat au bain-marie, so go ahead and put a large pan of water on the stove, one that the bowl you want to use can rest on. The bottom of the bowl must not touch the surface of the water. Also put a measuring jug in the refrigerator in advance.
• Scrape the vanilla pod and put the seeds, egg yolks and sugar in a metal bowl. Whisk until combined. Add the liquor, place the bowl over the pan and heat, stirring, until it reaches 63 degrees. Any hotter and the egg will set; any cooler and the advocaat will remain far too thin, so use a thermometer.
• Remove the bowl from the pan and pour the advocaat into the measuring jug you had placed in the refrigerator. If you see any lumps, you can still fish them out now. Cool the advocaat as quickly as possible, for example by placing the measuring jug in a sink half-filled with cold water. Stir the advocaat until it has cooled.
• Pour the advocaat into jars or bottles and store in the refrigerator. You can keep it for at least three weeks.

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