Egg Cream: Shaken, Not Stirred
The mocha egg cream shakerato you didn't know you needed. (You do.)
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When it comes to Jewish food nostalgia, egg creams get a lot of love. Developed sometime in the late 19th or early 20th-century in a candy shop or soda fountain (there are several competing origin stories), egg creams were the defining summer drink for a generation of Jews and other thirsty folks in New York City (and to a lesser extent beyond.) They garnered devoted fans from Mel Brooks, who wrote in an 1975 interview with Playboy magazine that egg creams could make one “swoon with ecstasy” to Lou Reed, who composed a fuzzy ode to egg creams in the 1990s:
When I was a young man, no bigger than this / A chocolate egg cream was not to be missed / Some U-Bet’s chocolate syrup, seltzer water mixed with milk / You stir it up into a heady fro, tasted just like silk.
Today, when members of a certain generation recall the concoction made with cold milk swirled with chocolate syrup (Fox’s U-Bet or go home), spritzed with bubbly seltzer, and sometimes garnished with a pretzel rod, they tend to get that misty look in their eyes. Younger folks, meanwhile, flock to nouveau soda fountains (like this one in Brooklyn, this one in Philly, and this one in Rhode Island) to sip and connect with one strand of America’s immigrant past.
The thing nobody mentions about egg creams, though, is that they really aren’t very good. Sure, an egg cream can take the edge off on a hot day. But while some dishes manage to transform a few ingredients into something truly special, even the most expertly swizzled egg creams taste a bit watered down (because technically, that’s exactly what they are) - and like they’re missing something. Reader, that “something” is ice cream. Or, as I recently learned, coffee.
In last week's “2 things I’m loving this week” segment, I gushed about a new-to-me obsession: the shakerato, which is an Italian iced coffee drink made from espresso and ice, vigorously jostled together in a cocktail shaker until frosty and foamy. I’ve made a shakerato once (sometimes twice) a day since learning about it and, as one does, began to play amateur barista. After adding maple syrup, sweetened condensed milk, regular milk, and heavy cream (which didn’t work - turns out ice and a high butterfat content don’t play well together!), I spotted the bottle of Fox’s U-Bet in my fridge leftover from Passover and a million lightbulbs began blinking in my head all at once.
So here you are: a new, Jewishly and Italian-inspired mocha egg cream shakerato. It has all the delightful foam one expects from a proper egg cream and, thanks to the magic of the cocktail shaker, is richer and more glacially cold than any traditional egg cream could ever dream to be. It is utterly delightful all on its own, but if you decide to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, then you can come sit at my table.
Mocha Egg Cream Shakerato
Serves 1
Seltzer, for making ice cubes
2 ounces espresso or very strong brewed coffee, cooled slightly (decaf is fine)
2 ounces milk (ideally whole, but do your thing Oatly fans)
1 tablespoon-ish Fox’s U-Bet Chocolate Syrup (they make a delish fair trade, corn syrup-free version!)
Pour the seltzer into an empty ice cube mold and freeze until solid. Thanks to the carbonation, they are going to end up more like funky ice cube shards - that’s okay!
Combine the espresso, milk, and chocolate syrup in a cocktail shaker. Fill shaker with the seltzer ice, cover, and shake until the outside of the shaker is uncomfortably cold and the mixture inside is frothy, 15 to 30 seconds.
Pour into a glass (no need to strain out the ice), and drink immediately.
COMING UP: The Four Questions Interview Series
I’m so excited to announce that, starting next week, I am beginning a new, semi-regular interview segment on The Jewish Table called “The Four Questions” (yep, the Passover reference is nerdily intended), in which I’ll ask four food-related questions to some of my favorite Jewish food luminaries. First up: the inimitable Deb Perelman who writes the Smitten Kitchen blog (but you knew that already!) and whose recipes for fig, olive oil, and sea salt challah, red potato knishes with kale, leeks, and cream cheese, and apricot, hazelnut brown butter hamantaschen, among others, have inspired countless readers.