Punch coco

Ingredients

The base

• 800 mlthick coconut milk
• 1 tincondensed milk
• about 400 g
• 200 mlevaporated milk
• or cream

The rum and spice

• 400 mlwhite or dark rum
• or to taste
• 2vanilla pods
• split and scraped
• or 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoongrated nutmeg
• 1 stickcinnamon

Sometimes added

• grated zest of 1 lime
• a pinch of salt
• a little sugar
• if needed

To serve

• well chilled
• in small glasses
• at Christmas and New Year

Directions

1. Leave the whole pod in the bottle. Everything is whisked together cold. Shake it or whisk it back together. Use the whole of the tin of it. It is very easy to drink too much of.
2. Adjust it all to your own taste. A small glass is quite enough. Shake the bottle before pouring. Lay each of the pods flat on a board. Keep all the empty pods as well. Do not discard the pods at all. Whisk the coconut milk in a large bowl. Whisk it smooth before adding anything.
3. Whisk in the condensed milk gradually. Add it in a slow steady stream. Whisk constantly as it goes in. Take your proper time over it. Whisk in all the evaporated milk. Condensed milk alone is far too thick. Add it in gradually as well now. Whisk in all the vanilla seeds. Add the grated nutmeg to them. Grate it fresh if you possibly can. Whisk in all of the rum gradually.
4. Add it slowly rather than all at once. Whisk constantly as it goes in. That keeps the mixture emulsified. Whisk it well right throughout. Taste it and adjust the sweetness. Add a pinch of salt if it is cloying.
5. Whisk in a little grated lime zest. Some households add it and some do not. Pour it into clean dry bottles. Drop the split vanilla pods in. Add the cinnamon stick as well.
6. Leave them in there throughout. It is served genuinely very cold. Keep it cold at absolutely all times. It keeps about two weeks refrigerated. Discard it if it smells at all off. Discard it if it separates badly. Serving it is done genuinely very cold.
7. Shake the whole bottle well first. Shake it every time before pouring. Pour it out into small glasses. Grate fresh nutmeg over the top. It is drunk very cold and slowly.

Technique

• This is a strong drink whose sweetness hides the alcohol entirely, making it very easy to drink too much of — worth saying plainly. Four hundred millilitres of rum is a guide and some households use considerably more, so adjust to taste but know what is in it. It is served in small glasses rather than by the tumbler.
• Add the rum gradually while whisking constantly rather than all at once: alcohol can separate the coconut fat and the mixture goes grainy if it does. The same applies to the condensed milk, which goes lumpy if poured in fast.
• It contains milk and coconut milk and must stay refrigerated throughout — the alcohol helps but does not preserve it. It keeps about two weeks cold; discard it if it smells off or separates badly, though some settling is normal.

Substitutions

• Cream stands in for evaporated milk, which thins the mixture to drinking consistency; condensed milk alone is far too thick and sweet enough that extra sugar is rarely needed.
• A pinch of salt sharpens it if it tastes cloying, and a little grated lime zest cuts the richness; some households add it and some do not.

Variations

• Use whole vanilla pods where possible, split with the seeds scraped out, and put both seeds and pods into the bottle — the pod keeps infusing as it sits and the flavour deepens over days, which is a genuine improvement.
• Madagascar is the major vanilla producer and vanilla is central to the island’s economy, appearing across its cooking; it is the defining flavour here.
• Use full fat coconut milk, since light versions give a thin watery punch, and shake or whisk the tin back together first — it separates into thick cream over thin liquid.

History

Mixed for Christmas and New Year across the Malagasy and Creole Indian Ocean, served chilled in small glasses.

Frequently asked questions

What is Punch coco?

Punch coco is a cocktail from Madagascar: rum blended with coconut milk, condensed milk and vanilla. Mixed for Christmas and New Year across the Malagasy and Creole Indian Ocean, served chilled in small glasses.

How long does Punch coco take to make?

Punch coco takes 20 minutes of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes about 1.5 litres. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Punch coco?

Yes, within limits. Cream stands in for evaporated milk, which thins the mixture to drinking consistency; condensed milk alone is far too thick and sweet enough that extra sugar is rarely needed. A pinch of salt sharpens it if it tastes cloying, and a little grated lime zest cuts the richness; some households add it and some do not.

What is the most important thing to get right in Punch coco?

Leave the whole pod in the bottle. Everything is whisked together cold. Shake it or whisk it back together. Use the whole of the tin of it. It is very easy to drink too much of.