Ingredients
Base
- 700 mldark rum, at least 54% ABV
- 200 gsugar cubes
Fruit and spice
- 100 graisins
- 100 gdried figs or prunes, chopped
- 1orange, sliced
- 1lemon, sliced
- 2cinnamon sticks
- 6cloves
- 4star anise
- 1vanilla pod
Equipment
- a wide heavy pot or fireproof dish
- a metal grid or slotted spoon
- a lid that fits
- a ladle
Directions
- Read the safety before the recipe, because this dish involves deliberately setting high-proof spirit alight indoors.
- Work on a stable heatproof surface, well away from curtains, overhead cupboards and anything hanging. Have the pot lid within reach at all times, because putting the lid on is how you extinguish it.
- Never pour rum from the bottle onto a lit flame. The flame travels up the stream into the bottle. Take the pot off any heat and add spirit only when nothing is burning.
- Keep children and anyone unsteady well back, and do not do this after several drinks yourself.
- Put the dried fruit, citrus slices and whole spices into the pot with about two thirds of the rum.
- Warm it gently until it is hot but nowhere near boiling, then take it off the heat entirely.
- Take it off the heat before lighting. You want to ignite warm vapour, not to be holding a pan over a flame.
- Lay a metal grid or a large slotted spoon across the top of the pot and pile the sugar cubes on it.
- Soak the sugar with a little of the remaining rum.
- Turn the lights off, which is traditional and also practical, because the flame is nearly invisible in a lit room.
- Light the sugar with a long match or a taper, standing back as you do it.
- The sugar catches, burns blue, and melts down through the grid into the rum below in a slow caramel drip. That is the whole spectacle and it takes several minutes.
- Spoon a little more rum over the sugar as it burns if it starts to go out, using a ladle rather than the bottle.
- When the sugar has all melted through, put the lid on to smother the flame.
- Never blow it out and never pour water on it. The lid is the only correct method.
- Stir, taste, and add the last of the rum if you want it stronger.
- Ladle it hot into heatproof glasses or mugs, with a few pieces of the fruit in each.
- It is a Christmas and New Year drink in Hungary, made as a small piece of theatre in a darkened room.
Technique
- It is essentially the Hungarian relative of German Feuerzangenbowle, which uses a sugarloaf over wine.
- The alcohol does not all burn off, and it remains a strong drink.
- Purpose-made grids and long-handled tongs are sold for this and are worth having.
Substitutions
- A high-proof brandy or pálinka in place of rum.
- A pre-made sugarloaf, sold for Feuerzangenbowle.
Variations
- Feuerzangenbowle, made over hot red wine.
- With more citrus and less fruit.
- Made without lighting it at all, simply as hot spiced rum, which is entirely reasonable.
History
A Hungarian New Year’s Eve punch of Central European student origin, lit for the spectacle of blue flames.
Frequently asked questions
What is Krampampuli?
Krampampuli is a cocktail from Hungary: rum burned over sugar and dried fruit in a darkened room, ladled hot. A Hungarian New Year’s Eve punch of Central European student origin, lit for the spectacle of blue flames.
How long does Krampampuli take to make?
Krampampuli takes 15 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Krampampuli?
Yes, within limits. A high-proof brandy or pálinka in place of rum. A pre-made sugarloaf, sold for Feuerzangenbowle.
What is the most important thing to get right in Krampampuli?
Never pour rum from the bottle onto a lit flame. The flame travels up the stream into the bottle. Take the pot off any heat and add spirit only when nothing is burning.
