One demo I missed at the Austin Food & Wine festival was that of Christina Tosi, famous dessert pastry chef of Momofuko Milk Bar. I felt I owed it to myself to at least order the cookbook, which features such creative creations as Corn Cookies, Cereal Milk, and the you’ve-probably-heard-of-it-even-if-you’re-not-a-foodie Crack Pie. Before I attempt those specialties though, I thought it best to begin with one of her basics – to get accustomed to her cooking style. Enter cereal milk, a base that she uses in several recipes throughout the book and one that utilizes a few of her unique cooking techniques and secret ingredients – what up glucose?! What does this have to do with a cocktail? Well, read on my friends and we’ll put that cereal milk into a White Russian for something a little off-the-beaten path.

 For Christina’s recipes you’re likely going to have to take a trip to a specialty bakery supply shop or Amazon. Here in Austin, I got the glucose and gelatin sheets I needed at Make it Sweet (formerly the All-in-One bakeshop), and the freeze-dried corn and milk powder at Whole Foods. With everything procured, I got to work.

Cereal Milk (from Milk cookbook)

• 2 3/4 C corn flakes
• 3 3/4 C cold milk
• 2 T light brown sugar
• 1/4 t kosher salt

Heat oven to 300 degree F.

Spread cornflakes on parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly toasted and cool completely. We found the toasted corn flakes only slightly better than the straight-up untoasted corn flakes. There was a difference, but if you’re in a rush you can likely skip this step. Especially if planning on mixing the cereal milk with other things.

Transfer cooled cornflakes to pitcher and fill with milk. Steep for 20 minutes. We stirred it up with a long bar spoon.

Strain mixture through fine-mesh sieve (so no cornflakes make it through), collecting the milk in a bowl.

Whisk brown sugar and salt into the milk until fully dissolved. Then store for up to 1 week.

With your finished cereal milk, you can now make the ice cream base used for the White Russians. We reserved some for ice cream too. Since we’re going through all this work already, we may as well maximize.

The Base (from Milk cookbook)

• 1 1/2 gelatin sheets
• Cereal milk from above
• 2 t freeze-dried corn powder (we took the Just Corn brand corn from whole foods and blended to a powder in a blender)
• 2 T light brown sugar
• 1/4 t kosher salt
• 1/4 C milk powder
• 2 T glucose

Bloom gelatin by putting in a bowl of cold water. You want it to be soft but not to lose its structure when you handle it. Give it about 1-2 minutes.

Warm some of the cereal milk in a saucepan and then add the gelatin, whisking to dissolve. Slowly whisk in the rest of the cereal milk and other ingredients until everything is combined.

Hopefully that wasn’t too bad. Now you’re ready for making a dang drink.

Cereal Milk White Ruskie (adapted from Milk cookbook)

• 1 C Cereal Milk Base (from above)
• 2 t corn powder
• 3 T Starbucks Coffee Liquer
• 3 T Vodka (we used Tito’s)

Christina says she goes through the trouble of making the base for the white russian because it stands up better to the liquor in the cocktail. That makes sense because the base adds more flavor through extra corn powder, and viscosity through glucose and gelatin. But if you’re the shortcut type, try it with just cereal milk and maybe throw in an extra teaspoon of corn powder to compensate. It’ll probably still be pretty good.

We added all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker, filled with ice, and shook what our mama gave us. We then strained it into ice filled cocktail glasses. Frothy goodness!

The finished product is slightly more sweet than your average white russian and the infusion of corn flakes adds a distinct complexity. If you’ve been keeping up, you know we made some Beet-infused vodka a while back for our Beet Mint Pom-pops. I tried some of that in place of the regular vodka and really liked it. It seemed to take the edge off the vodka and made the russian that much more smooth. If you’re a fan of beets, give it a try. But if you think your palette might be sensitive to that bitterness, also found in broccoli, you’re probably better off keeping it simple with regular-ol’ vodka.

Enjoy!