Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Ponche de Crème
Trinidad's Christmas eggnog: eggs beaten with lime zest, evaporated and condensed milk, rum, and Angostura bitters, dusted with nutmeg.
Trinidadian · medium · serves 8
prep 15 min · cook 0 min
~448 cal · 15g protein · 42g carbs · 15g fat · 0g fiber · 42g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Ponche de crème (or punch de crème) is Trinidad and Tobago's answer to eggnog and the centrepiece of a Trini Christmas. It descends from Venezuela's ponche crema but has been made unmistakably Trinidadian with lime zest and, above all, the local Angostura aromatic bitters that cut through the richness.
Eggs are beaten until frothy with lime zest, then evaporated and sweetened condensed milk fold in, followed by a generous pour of rum, a good dash of bitters, and grated nutmeg. Some cooks gently the eggs over heat for safety; either way it is chilled and served ice cold in small glasses.
Creamy, spiced, and bright with citrus and bitters, ponche de crème is the taste of December in Trinidad, bottled up and shared with every visitor. It contains raw egg in the classic build, so tempering is wise for anyone who should avoid it.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 8
6 eggs
from 1 lime lime zest
2 cups evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups white rum
2 tsp Angostura aromatic bitters
to taste freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
1
Beat the eggs with the lime zest until pale and frothy, tempering them gently over a bowl of simmering water if you prefer not to use raw egg.
✎ Chef’s note
The lime zest and Angostura bitters are what make this Trinidadian rather than plain eggnog; do not leave either out.
2
Beat in the evaporated milk and then the condensed milk until smooth.
3
Stir in the rum, the bitters, and plenty of grated nutmeg.
4
Strain into a bottle or jug and chill thoroughly.
5
Serve ice cold in small glasses with a little more nutmeg grated over the top.
Port of Spain Christmas tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Port of Spain. Carnival reorganises the eating. Stalls run through the night, corn soup and pelau, rice cooked down with browned sugar and pigeon peas, hold people together between bands, and the doubles man is judged on how fast he can build one and how much pepper he asks about. Green seasoning, blitzed from chadon beni, thyme and garlic, is in almost all of it.
🗺️
Trinidad & Tobago. Green seasoning is the base almost everything starts from: a blitzed wet paste of chadon beni, thyme, scallion, garlic and pepper that gets rubbed into meat hours ahead and stirred into pots. Callaloo here is made from dasheen leaves cooked down with okra and coconut milk, which is a different dish from what the same word means elsewhere in the region.
🌍
North America. North America's table began with Indigenous foodways, the "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash, plus chiles, tomatoes, and cacao, then layered on colonial, African, and immigrant influences. From Mexico's UNESCO-recognized cuisine to the Cajun and Creole pots of Louisiana and the fiery jerk of the Caribbean, the region turns ancient staples into something new. Barbecue, tacos, gumbo, and mole all carry stories of migration and adaptation.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Trinidad & Tobago
DoublesTwo soft turmeric flatbreads folded around curried chickpeas, tamarind, and pepper sauce, Trinidad’s street-corner breakfast.
PelauA one-pot of caramel-browned chicken, rice, and pigeon peas cooked in coconut milk.
Bake and SharkCrisp fried flatbread split and stuffed with seasoned fried fish and a riot of sauces and salads, a Maracas beach classic.
Browse all Trinidad & Tobago recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Whisk.
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
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Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Ponche de Crème?
Trinidad's Christmas eggnog: eggs beaten with lime zest, evaporated and condensed milk, rum, and Angostura bitters, dusted with nutmeg.
Where does Ponche de Crème come from?
Ponche de Crème is a Trinidadian dish from Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.
Can Ponche de Crème be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Ponche de Crème recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Ponche de Crème safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Ponche de Crème take to make?
About 15 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 8.
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