Enjoy a bottle of homemade rich, luscious Ponche crema recipe (Dominican rum eggnog) with a very creamy texture and all the taste of our rum, and the spirit of Christmas. Made with simple, easy-to-find ingredients, it is also an inexpensive but refined Christmas gift.
Why we ❤️ it
With a thick, smooth texture, chilled, and warm taste of rum, our ponche navideño recipe is like a liquid flan mixture, a dessert that you can drink, and one of the most popular traditional Dominican beverages.
Ponche crema, or ponche de ron (rum eggnog) is a rich, creamy drink, made with milk, egg yolks, and spices, with a dash of rum that makes it very smooth on the palate. This spiced, chilled eggnog must not be absent from your own Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) dinner table.
What is ponche?
Ponche in Spanish is the word for both eggnog and punch (like fruit punch), so be mindful of that to avoid confusion. Ponche crema is simply eggnog in English.
This type of eggnog is not only popular in the Dominican Republic, but all over the rest of the Spanish Caribbean, and Mexico.
More ponche recipes
Dominican ponche de ron (rum eggnog) is the classic drink of the Dominican Christmas dinner. It's just not the same without it, and there are many versions, like the popular ones I share below, and even one with prunes.
If you want to try other variations of this classic Dominican drink, check out these other recipes.
Ponche crema, or ponche dominicano.
Top tips
- Don't worry if it's not as thick as you're used to when you finish cooking, it will get thicker when chilled.
- We suggest you prepare some extra and give it to friends and family. Use your crafty superpowers for some fancy presentation, which will make the perfect edible Christmas present. They'll loooove it.
- The main ingredients of homemade ponche crema –eggs and dairy – mean that it should be kept refrigerated, and consumed within a week. If you leave the bottle to reach room temperature, it is not safe to refrigerate again.
- For safety reasons, I suggest you use a candy thermometer to measure the final temperature. Eggs should be heated to at least 160 ºF [71 ºC] to prevent the risk of salmonella contamination. If you have pasteurized eggs available, I suggest you use them.
About this recipe
The amount of rum you use is a suggestion. My recipe calls for the minimum amount, but you can add more if you like. I have also suggested a recipe that yields eggnog that is not sickly sweet, so if you want yours sweeter, you can add more condensed milk.
Make these additions after you have chilled and tried the eggnog.
This recipe yields about 20 servings, about 3 liters in total.
Salud!
Video
Recipe
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Ponche Crema [Recipe + Video] Christmas Eggnog
Ingredients
- 5 cup condensed milk
- 10 cup evaporated milk
- 8 egg yolk
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg (freshly-grated)
- ¾ cup white rum
Instructions
Combining ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the condensed milk and evaporated milk and the egg yolks. Stir until the mixture is well combined.Sieve, then discard solids. Add cinnamon sticks and nutmeg.
Cooking ingredients
- Boil in a medium pot in a bain-marie (hot water bath) over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, lower heat and simmer for 20 more minutes. Stir often with a wooden spoon to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
Cooling
- Add the rum and remove it from the heat. Stir constantly but slowly until it cools down to room temperature.Remove the cinnamon sticks.
Chilling and serving
- Chill, then ladle into a bottle for storage, or to serve immediately.
Tips and Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutritional information.
FAQs
Traditionally ponche cream was made with heavy cream – hence the name – but it is nowadays more often made with evaporated milk and condensed milk, which cuts down on the preparation time.
Yes! Homemade ponche contains both eggs and dairy, so it is very important to keep refrigerated and consume within a week, as it does not contain any preservatives.
Published Dec 2, 2011, revised
