Directions:
CORE and bake 1 dozen apples
COMBINE in a saucepan and boil for 5 minutes:
1 cup water
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
6 whole cloves
6 allspice berries
1 stick cinnamon
BEAT until stiff but not dry:
1 dozen egg whites
BEAT separately until light in color:
1 dozen egg yolks
FOLD whites into yolks, using large bowl. Strain sugar and spice
mixture into eggs, combining quickly.
BRING almost to boiling point separately:
4 bottles sherry or Madeira
2 cups brandy
INCORPORATE the hot wine with the spice and egg mixture, beginning
slowly and stirring briskly with each addition. Toward the end of this process, add the
brandy. Now, just before serving and while the mixture is still foaming, add the baked
apples.
Wassail can also be made with a combination of beer and wine,
preferably sherry, in which case the proportion should be roughly 4 of beer to 1 of
sherry.