RECIPE: THE MOON

 

A smooth, yet tart milk punch — a birthday cake in a glass!

prep time: 20 mins active, 12 hours passive serves: 4 difficulty: hard

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ cups (360 ml) hot water
• 1½ tsp (4 g) green tea leaves
• ¾ tsp gelatin powder or agar, unflavoured
• ½ cup (25 g) plain cornflakes, toasted at 300°F (150°C) for 10 minutes until lightly browned
• 1½ cups (360 ml) whole milk, 3.25% fat
• 3 cloves, whole
• Pinch of nutmeg, freshly grated
• 3 tsp vanilla bean paste, or alcohol-free extract
• ¼ cup (65 g) sugar or equivalent substitute
• 1 Tbsp (10 g) butter, unsalted
• ½ cup (120 ml) lemon juice, fresh 
• ½ cup (120 ml) egg whites or aquafaba
• 1 Tbsp (12 g) rainbow cake sprinkles

DIRECTIONS

Gelatin Green Tea (yields 1½ or 360 ml)

1. In a small heat-proof vessel, combine 1½ cups hot water with green tea leaves.
2. Let infuse for 5 minutes, then strain out the leaves.
3. Add gelatin and stir well to dissolve.

Birthday Cake Milk (yields 1¼ cups, or 300 ml)

1. Combine toasted cornflakes and milk and refrigerate for 20 minutes to infuse.
2. Strain the milk into a small pot, pressing gently on the cornflakes to release more milk. Discard solids.
3. Add cloves, nutmeg, vanilla bean paste, sugar and butter. 
4. Set pot over low heat and stir gently until sugar and butter are dissolved, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to heat the milk to the point of curdling.
5. When the milk is lightly steaming, remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve into a shallow oven-safe dish, slightly smaller than your largest strainer. Discard any solids.

The Moon (yields 2⅓ cups or 550 ml)

1. Pour the gelatin green tea and lemon juice into the dish containing the birthday cake milk and stir well.
2. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight or until solid. 
3. Set the frozen Moon mixture out at room temperature for 5 minutes to loosen it from its dish.
4. Put a large strainer over a bowl, and flip the frozen mix into it. Let it sit for 15 minutes to defrost more, then place the entire apparatus in the fridge.
5. In 4-5 hours, the frozen Moon mix will have melted, leaving a white jelly in the strainer that can be discarded. The clear, yellow-hued liquid is the cocktail!
6. Pour into a bottle and keep refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

Per Serving

• 4 oz (120 ml) The Moon
• 1 oz (30 ml) egg white or aquafaba
• A pinch of rainbow cake sprinkles

1. Add The Moon and egg white to a cocktail shaker without ice.
2. Seal and vigorously shake for 10 seconds to create a foam.
3. Open, fill the shaker with ice and shake for another 10 seconds.
4. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a coupe glass, tapping the strainer to get more foam out.
5. Wait a moment for the foam to settle, then pinch some cake sprinkles over top.

NOTES

• Commonly known as a milk punch, this cocktail is made using a technique called “freeze-thaw clarification.” Normally, milk curdles when mixed with something acidic like lemon juice, but the gelatin traps the milk proteins and any other tiny solids. What’s left is a mostly clear liquid that still has the smoothness of milk!