Syllabub is an “adult beverage” that has traditionally been made for special events and holiday gatherings for centuries. I’ve heard mixed reviews as to syllabub’s taste (from “yummy” to “let’s never speak of that concoction again”), so when I came across a couple of syllabub recipes in American Cookery, I had to give them a try!
This week’s recipe is “A Whipt Syllabub,” which is meant for topping desserts and drinks at holiday parties. It’s like alcoholic cool whip, so there was no way I wasn’t going to make this, for I am a cool whip/whipped cream fiend. I literally can’t control myself around it. (Don’t worry, I’ll be making an actual liquid syllabub in December, so you’ll be seeing more alcoholic goodness.)
Here is the lovely recipe for A Whipt Syllabub by Amelia Simmons:
It reads: “Take two porringers of cream and one of white wine, grate in the skin of a lemon, take the whites of three eggs, sweeten it to your taste, then whip it with a whisk, take off the froth as it rises and put it into your syllabub glasses or pots, and they are fit for use.”
The first mystery I had to uncover was in finding out what, exactly, is a porringer. After a little research, I discovered that porringers were small, often pewter, bowls that varied in size from anywhere between two inches and nine inches in diameter. So that did little to help me in finding out what kind of measurements to use for this recipe. So I did what I do best–I completely guessed. Let’s see how that went.
Here are my ingredients! I used Moscato because that is my favorite white wine. You can use whatever wine you fancy, however.
For the heavy whipping cream, I just poured the entire small jug I got into a measuring cup and determined that it equaled two cups. That was my equivalent of “two porringers,” so I then used one cup of the Moscato.
I mostly wanted to take a picture of this because I could not believe that I successfully separated three eggs on the first try. 😉 The three egg whites went into the mixture next!
To finish off the mixture, I added the “skin” [zest] of one lemon and two tablespoons of sugar.
I had great intentions of just using a hand whisk and sheer muscle power to whip up this syllabub when I first started out, but it quickly became evident that I did not have the strength or patience to do that. I ended up using my stand mixer to finish the job. I would like to formally apologize to my foremothers who I let down by doing this, and I want you to know that you were all much better women than I am. I would not have lived very long in the colonial era.
My handy dandy mixer [cheating machine] whipped up my syllabub very nicely after about 10 minutes on the second to highest speed. [Again, hats off to the colonial ladies who did this all by hand.]
I started off slow with the syllabub, not knowing how much my husband and I would like it. I poured a small amount of wine into a glass and topped it with a thin layer of my whipped syllabub.
We quickly learned that whipped syllabub is one of the most heavenly things to ever pass by our lips, so we decided to go for much more on the next round. [Wine is on the bottom, mixed with left over syllabub from the first drink, topped with more syllabub. This is DIVINE. Seriously, one of the best things I have ever tasted.]
At this point, we got a little “Syllabub Silly” as I now like to call it, and we decided to top everything with it. Here is syllabub-topped hot chocolate. [Beats marshmallows hands down.]
As a result of this recipe experiment, I now have a new favorite “whipped cream” topping for desserts. It is a sweet wine cream topping, so what’s not to love? I seriously want to top so many things with this–pumpkin pie, cider, cookies, cake, other alcoholic drinks…
All in all, this was a super fun recipe, and I am excited about making another, stand-alone syllabub next month.
Bold, Joyful Life 
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