Hot Buttered Rum with Make-Ahead Spiced Butter Batter

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The bar-quality version of a fireside classic: a whipped brown sugar, ice cream and spice batter that keeps for weeks in the freezer, so a proper hot buttered rum is always two minutes away. A generous scoop melts into aged rum and hot water into something creamy, caramel-scented and dangerously easy to drink. Makes enough batter for about 12 drinks; the recipe below builds 8 and banks the rest.

Ingredients

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup good vanilla ice cream, softened
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp finely grated orange zest (optional)

• 12 oz aged dark rum (such as Jamaican or Barbados, 1 1/2 oz per drink)
• 2 oz blackstrap or overproof rum, for floating (optional)
• 6 cups water, just off the boil
• Freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon sticks, for serving
• 8 strips orange peel, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the batter: In a medium bowl, beat the softened butter, dark brown sugar and powdered sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until pale, fluffy and no longer grainy on the tongue. Scrape the bowl once halfway through.
2. Add the softened ice cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, ginger, vanilla, salt and orange zest. Beat on low just until smooth and uniform, about 45 seconds — don't overwhip or the mixture will loosen and weep.
3. Transfer the batter to an airtight container. Use it right away, or refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 3 months. Frozen batter stays scoopable, like thick ice cream; if it's rock hard, let it sit at room temperature 10 minutes.
4. Warm your mugs: fill 8 heatproof mugs or glass Irish coffee cups with hot tap water and let them stand 2 minutes, then dump. Cold mugs are the main reason this drink goes flat and greasy.
5. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil, then take it off the heat and let it sit 1 minute — you want it around 200°F, hot but not violently boiling, which keeps the butter emulsified instead of splitting into slicks.
6. Into each warmed mug add 2 tablespoons (a generous heaping scoop) of the spiced batter and 1 1/2 oz aged dark rum. Stir for 10 seconds so the batter starts to soften against the rum.
7. Top each mug with about 6 oz of the hot water, pouring slowly, then stir briskly for 15 seconds until the batter fully dissolves and a thin, glossy foam rises to the surface.
8. Float 1 teaspoon of blackstrap or overproof rum on top of each if you like, then grate nutmeg over the surface, add a cinnamon stick and a strip of orange peel, and serve immediately while there's still steam coming off the top.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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