Recipe: Tom & Jerry

Christine Gallary
Christine GallarySenior Recipe Editor at The Kitchn
I grew up in a Chinese food-loving family, eating my first restaurant meals in Oakland's vibrant Chinatown. My love of food but lack of cooking experience led to me Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, where I graduated with a Diplôme de Cuisine in French cooking. After culinary school, I learned how to test and edit recipes in test kitchens at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW, falling in love with the process of rigorously testing recipes to make sure they were foolproof for the home cook. I've worked with thousands of recipes over the past 15 years, including developing recipes for the James Beard-award winning Mister Jiu's in Chinatown cookbook. Living in the delicious diversity of San Francisco, I never get tired of finding new ingredients or cuisines to try. My favorite type is Cantonese home cooking — I'm on a quest to recreate the dishes my grandmother used to make. All the food I test at home is eagerly tasted and enjoyed by my husband, Hayden, and daughter, Sophie, while our little dog, Mochi, looks wistfully on.
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updated Jan 21, 2020
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Credit: Joe Lingeman
A fluffy, sweet, boozy hot milk punch to warm your winter toes.

Serves10

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(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

I’d like to think that I survived two East Coast winters because of my introduction to the Tom & Jerry. Although this drink is popular in the Midwest, I love it so much that I still crave it during mild California winters. For those not familiar with this seasonal hot milk punch, it’s a creamy spiced batter swirled with Cognac, rum, and hot milk. Basically, a Tom & Jerry tastes like a fluffy, sweet, boozy cloud that you’d want to take a nap in. And if you can make meringue or whipped cream, you too can enjoy this delicious winter cocktail!

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

It’s All in the Batter

The Tom & Jerry starts with spiced egg batter: Egg yolks are whisked with sugar, rum, and sweet spices, and then folded together with beaten egg whites into a fragrant, creamy cloud.

After the batter’s made, you can hold it in the refrigerator for up to two hours and make drinks to order, or throw it into a punch bowl if you’re immediately serving it to a thirsty crowd. In fact, if you’ve got one of those iconic Tom & Jerry punch bowls, pull it out! Stir some Cognac and aged rum into the batter, top off with hot milk, and let everything mingle together into a deliciously rich and sweet after-dinner drink that will warm you to the core.

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)
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Tom & Jerry

A fluffy, sweet, boozy hot milk punch to warm your winter toes.

Serves 10

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

For the batter:

  • 1 cup

    granulated sugar

  • 3

    large egg yolks

  • 1 ounce

    aged rum

  • 1/2 teaspoon

    ground cinnamon

  • 1/8 teaspoon

    ground allspice

  • Pinch

    ground cloves

  • 3

    large egg whites

  • 1/8 teaspoon

    cream of tartar

For the punch:

  • 1 1/4 cups

    (10 ounces) Cognac or brandy

  • 1 1/4 cups

    (10 ounces) aged rum

  • 2 1/2 cups

    (20 ounces) hot whole milk

  • Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Make the batter: Place the sugar, egg yolks, rum, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves in a large bowl and whisk until the sugar is mostly dissolved; set aside. Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium bowl and whisk or beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Add the beaten egg whites to the bowl of egg yolks and gently fold until combined.

  2. For a single serving: Place 1/2 cup of the batter in a heated mug. Add 1 ounce of Cognac or brandy and 1 ounce of rum and stir gently to just combine but not deflate the batter. Add 2 ounces of hot milk, stir gently to combine, and garnish with grated nutmeg.

  3. For punch: Place all the batter in a 3-quart punch or serving bowl. Slowly pour in the Cognac and rum and stir gently to combine, being careful not to deflate the batter. Slowly pour in the milk and stir gently to combine. Garnish with grated nutmeg and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Make ahead: The batter can be refrigerated 2 hours. If you have cold batter, heat up the Cognac and rum with the milk before adding in the batter and stirring.

Filed in:
Beverages
Cocktails
Eggs
Gluten-Free
Ingredient
liquor