This post is sponsored by Wilfa
Are we in the festive spirit yet? I think I’m getting there. It definitely helps that everything I have been making the past couple weeks are decidedly festive. It also helps that I was in central London a few times this week and there is nothing like a wander through the city, taking in the lights and all the decorations, to get you in the spirit. Talking of the festive spirit I have a literal festive spirit recipe for you, a vegan take on eggnog, or Oatnog as it really should be called. Made with homemade oat and cashew milk and flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg and of course lots of rum, it’s a truly delicious alternative to the classic dairy based drink. The drink, straight out of the bottle, is lighter than classic versions as it’s missing the richness the cream and eggs bring. I don’t mind this, as I enjoy the flavour but can normally only drink one small glass due to the richness, obviously not an issue with this version. If you miss the body of a slightly richer drink you can actually shake this with a little aquafaba. To make the oat/cashew milk I used my Wilfa Powerfuel XL blender which is incredibly powerful and broke down the nuts and oats in seconds. To ensure the milk doesn’t have a slimy texture you want to blend for shorter than you’d imagine, 20-30 seconds works well. This is shorter than other recipes might suggest but that’s simply because the Wilfa Powerfuel XL will break down the oats much quicker than other blenders. This is because the blender has a very powerful 2000 watt motor which makes the blades turn 32000 times a minute at full speed
When you’ve made the oatnog it will keep in the fridge for about 5 days but as it is homemade and doesn’t include any emulsifiers it will split as it sits, but don’t worry simply shake it before you serve it and you’ll have a delicious creamy oatnog once again.
Oatnog (aka Vegan Eggnog)
100g raw cashews
100g traditional rolled oats
75ml maple syrup
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
750ml water
150ml dark rum
To make the oatnog first soak the cashews in cold water for a couple hours.
Drain the cashews and add the nuts, oats, maple syrup, spices, vanilla, salt and water to the jug of the Wilfa Powerfuel XL blender. Pop the lid on the blender and process for about 20-30 seconds until smooth. Over blending the mixture at this point can make for slightly slimy oat milk so don’t overdo it. Pour the milk mixture into a nut milk bag (or use a very fine cheesecloth) and allow the milk to strain through, adding gentle pressure to extract as much milk as possible. Don’t squeeze the mixture too hard or more of the starch will be extracted into the milk. Discard the sediment left behind.
Stir in the rum and then decant into a bottle. Pop in the fridge and stir for up to 5 days. To serve pour into a glass filled with ice and top with a fresh dusting of grated nutmeg.