Creative Household Co.

Ambrosia salad is a family staple at every holiday dinner— we call it "24-Hour Salad" or "Fight Salad."

Despite it being more of a dessert, it's a main attraction along with the protein, green bean casserole, and all that.

So I took our classic family recipe and combined it with my favourite cocktail: the iconic whiskey sour.

It's a match made in heaven— this Whiskey Sour Ambrosia feels familiar, elevated, and exciting.

Let's get into it— I'm starting with the components and then showing you how to bring it all together.

Reconstituted Bourbon Cherries

1/4-cup dried cherries
2-tbsp bourbon
Pinch of cinnamon

Combine and let sit at least 24-hours before using.

Dried cherries should be available in any bulk food store. They can be expensive, but they go on sale quite often.

You can keep them in the fridge for six months or more— feel free to keep them on hand so this doesn't become a 48-hour salad.

Plus, you need them for all the whiskey sours in your life, right? Scale up this recipe as necessary.

Bourbon Whipped Cream

1-cup whipping cream
2-tbsp icing/powdered sugar
2-tbsp bourbon

Combine in a stand mixer and whip on high speed for 5 minutes.

It can be quite messy, so start slow, and cover the top of the stand mixer and bowl with a tea towel.

The cream should be quite cold when you start. Make sure to also freeze the bowl and whisk attachment.

Once it's made, get it back in the freezer until you're ready to use it.

Lemon Custard

4-tbsp sugar
4-tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
2 eggs

Combine these in a double boiler and keep whisking. It will become bubbly and airy first— that's a good sign.

Then it'll thicken nicely. Once that happens, add:

1-tbsp of unsalted butter

Whisk until the butter is completely integrated.

Bringing it together

In a medium bowl, combine:

4-cups mini white marshmallows or 24 large white ones diced
2 small tins of mandarin oranges (drained)
1/4-cup reconstituted bourbon cherries (strained from any remaining bourbon)
2-tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
Lemon custard
Bourbon whipped cream

Let this set for 24-hours in the fridge and enjoy!

A few notes:

— The texture is better with the diced marshmallows, but it is tedious. You'll need to keep coating your cutting board and knife in corn starch.

Did you know that's how they keep marshmallows from sticking together in the package? I didn't, it was just a fun fact I learnt during my research.

I like how the extra corn starch thickens up the Whiskey Sour Ambrosia Salad without affecting the taste.

— It works better if the custard goes in when it's fresh out of the double boiler (the heat helps break down the marshmallows).

— I quite enjoy eating it out of a vintage lowball or wine glass.

— Fun fact: I did some research into other recipes and tried to track down the origin of our family recipe. I came close but did not find our exact recipe.

Compare that to our family's green bean casserole recipe which came from French's (I love it).

I'm fascinated by the questions "when did this start in the family" and "how did it become a main attraction (dessert with dinner before dessert)?" My mom said "No clue. It was always there." I'll update this if I learn more.