Kandeel — Flemish Spiced Wine Caudle
A creamy hot drink made with white wine (or beer), thickened with egg yolks, sweetened and perfumed with cinnamon and saffron. Sweet, golden, spicy: a comforting velvet to drink with a spoon.
A creamy hot drink made with white wine (or beer), thickened with egg yolks, sweetened and perfumed with cinnamon and saffron. Sweet, golden, spicy: a comforting velvet to drink with a spoon.
Drink this while it still steams, I pray you. In London, winter bit the painter's fingers, and they served me this golden kandeel with saffron to restore warmth and mood. Beat egg yolks with wine over very low heat — above all, do not let it boil, or it will curdle — until it thickens like cream. A grating of cinnamon, a pinch of saffron for the gold colour, and one drinks it in small spoonfuls, like a balm.
- •White wine (or mild beer) — a pint (base)
- •Fresh egg yolks — a few (thickener)
- •Sugar or honey — to taste (sweetness)
- •Cinnamon — a grating (spice)
- •Saffron — a few threads (colour and perfume)
- •Mace or nutmeg — a pinch (fine spice)
Kandeel — Flemish Spiced Wine Caudle
A creamy hot drink made with white wine (or beer), thickened with egg yolks, sweetened and perfumed with cinnamon and saffron. Sweet, golden, spicy: a comforting velvet to drink with a spoon.
Why this dish? In Flanders and Holland, hot kandeel was served in good houses to warm, celebrate a birth, or comfort a convalescent. Van Dyck, of fragile health in his later London years, may have known these spiced, fortifying caudles offered to people of quality.
Drink this while it still steams, I pray you. In London, winter bit the painter's fingers, and they served me this golden kandeel with saffron to restore warmth and mood. Beat egg yolks with wine over very low heat — above all, do not let it boil, or it will curdle — until it thickens like cream. A grating of cinnamon, a pinch of saffron for the gold colour, and one drinks it in small spoonfuls, like a balm.
Ingredients (period version)
- White wine (or mild beer) — a pint (base)
- Fresh egg yolks — a few (thickener)
- Sugar or honey — to taste (sweetness)
- Cinnamon — a grating (spice)
- Saffron — a few threads (colour and perfume)
- Mace or nutmeg — a pinch (fine spice)
Ingredients
- Sweet white wine (or mild blond beer) — 40 cl (base)
- Egg yolks — 4 (thickener)
- Sugar — 60 g (sweetness)
- Ground cinnamon — 1/2 tsp (spice)
- Saffron — 1 pinch (a few threads) (colour and perfume)
- Grated nutmeg or mace — 1 pinch (fine spice)
Method
- Infuse the saffron in the warmed wine for a few minutes.
- Whisk the egg yolks with sugar in a saucepan off the heat.
- Gradually pour the saffron wine over the yolks, whisking constantly.
- Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, never letting it boil, until the mixture coats the spoon.
- Season with cinnamon and nutmeg, pour into cups or bowls.
- Serve immediately, very hot, to drink or with a spoon.
How it was made : Kandeel (related to English caudle and posset) is a spiced egg-and-wine/beer drink, attested in 17th-century Dutch cookbooks such as *De verstandige kock* (1667). It was offered at childbirth celebrations, feasts, and to the sick. Gentle heating without boiling prevents the eggs from curdling.
The contemporary twist : Serve kandeel in small coffee cups with a cinnamon stick, as a warm winter after-dinner 'digestif'.
Sources : De verstandige kock (1667) · Tradition of caudle / posset / kandeel in the Netherlands and 17th-century England
Anthony van Dyck · Charactorium
