Kyl Haselbauer has 20 years of experience working in fine-dining and modernist kitchens, including Bar Cotto and Anchovies &amp; Olives in Seattle. He is also the owner of Bright Spot, a café and coffee shop in Seattle.

Kyl Haselbauer

This eggnog pudding is a perfect way to celebrate the holiday season: thick and “custardy,” with all the cozy, vibrant notes of warming spices.After making <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/vegan-no-bake-chocolate-custard">my egg-free chocolate “custard,”</a> I knew I could use the same technique of blending cashews with low-acyl gellan to produce a perfectly textured pudding that tastes just like eggnog, without adding eggs or dairy.The combination of nuts, gellan, and water—once set and sheared—produces <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/the-science-of-fluid-gels">a fluid gel</a> that’s just as creamy and rich as a jug of nog. However, the texture of the fluid gel is entirely dependent on the quantity of gellan you introduce into the mixture, and a little goes a very long way; add too much and the texture will be too firm.To ensure you add the exact right amount of gellan to the mixture, you have to use a scale—accurate to 1/10th of a gram—so you don’t add too much, which will produce an unappealingly firm texture.

Vegan Eggnog Pudding