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This New Orleans brandy milk punch is a wonderful Mardi Gras cocktail. First you make a homemade vanilla bean simple syrup and then combine it with brandy and milk along with a few other ingredients. This New Orleans milk punch is guaranteed to get your Mardi Gras party started on the right note!
Mardi Gras, which is Fat Tuesday in French, marks the end of the pre-Lent season. The name comes from people having to use up all the fats in their pantry before Lent to prepare for abstinence and fasting.
If you love this, you might also like to try kiwi jalapeno margaritas, some of these jello shots or, for something to line your stomach pre-party, pasta da vinci!
How Easy is Homemade Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup to Make?
You will need sugar, water, vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract for this. Use regular granulated white sugar and bring it to a boil with the water in a pan. Let it simmer until the sugar dissolves then take the pan off the heat.
Mix in both kinds of vanilla then cool in a heatproof container in the refrigerator. See? Super-easy! Oh and vanilla syrup keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator so you can make extra if you like then add it to next week’s coffees, smoothies and so on.
If you don’t have vanilla bean paste or you don’t want to make your own using a vanilla bean, you can simply sub extra vanilla extract into the mixture instead.
Assembling the New Orleans Brandy Milk Punch
Shake some brandy and milk with ice cubes and heavy cream. Once everything is well combined, pour the new Orleans milk punch into serving glasses over crushed ice. Now add some edible gold leaf and/or freshly ground nutmeg if liked.
A word about the milk and cream: you can make this non-dairy if you want. Use something like almond, soy or oat milk and bear in mind it will come out tasting slightly different and also be less creamy than if you were to use the milk and cream.
Working with Edible Gold Leaf Flakes
One of the most fun parts of making New Orleans brandy milk punch is decorating the cocktail glasses with edible gold leaf. This looks so pretty and makes the cocktails extra special for any Mardi Gras party.
Gold can pass through the body without either being absorbed or breaking down. Perhaps you’ve tried edible gold before, maybe in a Sambuca shot. As long as it’s 23 or 24 karat gold it’s perfectly safe. I wouldn’t use anything with fewer karats since they contain other metals which might not be as safe.
As well as garnishing the Mardi Gras cocktail with gold flakes, you can decorate the rim of the glass with it. If you want to decorate your New Orleans brandy milk punch in this way, you’ll need to moisten the rim of the glass then use tweezers to gently press the gold on. A small paintbrush like these for example can be useful for this.
Would Sanding Sugar Work Instead?
Perhaps you prefer not to use real gold for your New Orleans brandy milk punch or you can’t get it. No problem. A tasty substitute can be orange juice applied to the rim of the glass and then you can dip it into gold (or another colour) sanding sugar instead.
Purple sanding sugar and/or green would also work for this brandy and milk cocktail. A bonus with the green one is you can save some for making Shamrock shakes on St Patrick’s Day too!
What are Some Traditional Foods for Mardi Gras?
There is more to Mardi Gras, or ‘fat Tuesday’, than simply Mardi Gras cocktail ideas. Not that you would but don’t forget about some traditional dishes for this special occasion!
Whether you’re a native of France or Louisiana or you simply want to enjoy this fun and festive holiday, let’s take a look at some tasty treats you might like to rustle up.
King cake is a staple and this is a round cake topped with green (faith), purple (justice) and gold (power) sugar. Dirty rice, crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, po’boy, a muffaletta sandwich, pancakes, and crawfish boil are more favourites for your upcoming Mardi Gras party.
All of the above foods go perfectly with New Orleans milk punch so you might like to start baking or else why not ask everyone to bring a different dish?
If you like this Mardi Gras cocktail, you might also like Refreshing Citrus Rainbow Sherbet Champagne Mimosa, Easy Tropical Rum Runner Cocktail – Caribbean Punch or Rainbow Pot O’ Gold Jello Vodka Shots.
Mouthwatering Mardi Gras Punch
New Orleans Brandy Milk Punch for Mardi Gras
Ingredients
For the vanilla bean simple syrup (makes enough for 6 cocktails):
- 1/2 Cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 Cup water
- 2 Teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract, pure
For the New Orleans Brandy Milk Punch:
- edible gold leaf flakes, optional garnish
- 1 1/2 Ounce brandy, such as E&J XO
- 1 Ounce vanilla bean simple syrup, recipe above
- 1 1/2 Ounce whole milk
- 1 Ounce heavy cream
- ice
- nutmeg, freshly grated
Instructions
For the vanilla bean simple syrup (Makes enough for 6 cocktails):
- To a small saucepan, add water and granulated sugar. Mix together over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once ingredients begin to boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir sugar until completely dissolved.
- Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract. Immediately transfer to a seal able heat-proof container and place in the refrigerator to cool until ready to use.
For the New Orleans Brandy Milk Punch:
- Using your finger, dampen about ¼ of the outside of your glass with water. Using tweezers, place edible gold leaf flakes along the wet area of the glass, patting the flakes down with a small paintbrush.
- Add 3 to 4 ice cubes to a cocktail shaker. Pour in brandy, vanilla bean simple syrup, whole milk, and heavy cream. Shake for about 20 seconds until chilled though. Pour into prepared cocktail glass over crushed ice. Top with freshly-grated nutmeg and a sprinkling of edible gold leaf, if desired.
Nutrition
You can be in charge of the homemade vanilla bean simple syrup and New Orleans brandy milk punch! And also perhaps decorate with festive shades of purple, green and gold to get everyone in a chilled out Mardi Gras mood!
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
Saving this for my party this year! yum