Tom & Jerry Coffee – A Christmas Irish Coffee

What Does the Tom & Jerry Coffee Taste Like?

The Tom and Jerry Coffee is fantastic. It tastes like an Irish coffee and a pumpkin spice latte. It has a slight sweetness and a clear coffee flavor that is not covered up by syrups and sugar, with the Tom and Jerry Christmas spices coming through nicely. A classic Tom and Jerry is fantastic, but it is a taste I thought would pair well with coffee. The intent was to make an Irish coffee but replace the whipped cream top with Tom and Jerry batter. Think Irish coffee but with Christmas spice. If it is Tom & Jerry Batter you are looking for please read my article on The Improved 1860s Style Tom & Jerry Batter.

What Is Tom & Jerry Batter?

Tom and Jerry’s batter is an egg and Christmas spice flavored mousse. It’s pretty good and doesn’t need to be mixed into a drink. You can make it yourself, or Tom and Jerry batter can be bought in stores during the holiday season in the upper midwest, where the drink is still pretty popular. I used to publish the original recipe on this site. However, I now use an updated one that makes for a considerably better drink while still being very similar flavor-wise to the original. Most modern recipes include butter and heavy cream and are much denser and almost eggnog-like. Mine does not. If the recipe is true to the classic and lacks a heavy fat ingredient, then the problem they are stuck with is using just warm water or milk, as meringue can not be heated so violently and rapidly. These versions taste fine, but I found this one that uses hot water to taste the best. The aroma is better; it sips better and has a more cozy feel to it. At its core, Tom and Jerry Batter face the same issue all egg-based desserts face when heated. The risk of curdling.

Most desserts try to solve this problem by cooking in a water bath so the egg doesn’t get too hot, and the original 1862 recipe could only use warm water and not hot, or else it would curdle. Most modern recipes try to fix this by adding butter or heavy cream since a cooked protein will bond to fat before bonding to another protein or stick with warm water or milk. While this keeps the drink from curdling, it either completely changes the flavor and texture or makes for a weak old, tasting drink. The solution I am using is an old baker’s technique to add a small amount of thickened corn starch, similar to American-style custard. American custards, cream pies, cream fillings, etc., are cooked at rapid high heat like any other dessert and do not curdle. This solution fixes the issue of curdling and lets the drink gets heated to a good hot drinks temperature while maintaining the drink’s original flavor and texture.

Make This Improved Tom & Jerry Batter Recipe.

I tried to change the original recipe and its ratios as little as possible. The only changes I made were adding cornstarch as a stabilizer and reducing the sugar to a more balanced amount. If you do not add cornstarch, then DO NOT use hot water. Only use warmed water or milk as the rapid heat will curdle the egg and make the drink lumpy.

• 6 Eggs
• 1.5 cups (360 g) of sugar
• 1 tbs (15 g) Cornstarch
• 1 oz (30 mLs) gold rum
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 g) ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 g) ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 g) ground cinnamon

1. Combine cornstarch and an ounce of hot water, stir till the cornstarch is dissolved and the mixture is thick, then set aside.
2. Separate the egg whites and yolks into two bowls.
3. Add the sugar to the egg whites and using an electric mixer (you would be crazy to do this by hand) beat the eggs into a medium peak meringue.
4. Once you are done beating, still using the electric mixer, slowly add the thickened wet corn starch. The cornstarch can only be added after you are done beating the meringue. The cornstarch prevents the meringue from cooking when you add hot water and curdling.
5. In the second bowl with the egg yolks add the rum, ground cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. Using the electric mixer again beat the yolks till they become lighter in color and runny.
6. Add the egg yolk mixture to the meringue and fold to combine.

If you would like to explore different fun ways to add flavor to your coffee, please check out this link for more coffee flavors.

Recipe Resources

• 1862 The Bartenders Guide – Thomas

NOTE: If what you are looking for is the Tom & Jerry Batter Recipe the link for that is here. Also, the video attached to this recipe below provides simple step-by-step instructions to make the batter and drink.