The Frosty Morning Drink is for making with one eye open and taking back to bed with you on a winter morning when coffee isn’t appropriate because you have every intention of falling back to sleep.

I discovered this beverage in the glorious, hilarious, perverse Eccentric Cookbook by Richard, Earl of Bradford (depicted on the cover wearing a bra-and-garters print apron). The Earl attributes the drink to Mrs. Beeton, famed English cookbook author of the nineteenth century. It appears, however, to originate with Reverend Robert Hunt, a founding member of the first English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 (see Laura Simkins Fitchett’s Beverages and Sauces of Colonial Virginia, 1607-1907).

Reverend Hunt’s recipe calls for curry powder. Unfortunately, these days, many commercially available curry powders–including the three tins in my cupboard–contain decidedly savory ingredients such as garlic and salt. Instead, I used garam masala, a somewhat mellower mixture of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, black pepper, nutmeg, and other fellows you’d likely meet in a spice cookie or fruitcake. Every garam masala is different, as is every curry powder, so read the ingredients on your spice jar before making this lovely concoction.

Frosty Morning Drink
Serves 2.
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, or to taste
1 teaspoon garam masala

Bring the milk to a simmer in a small saucepan, then whisk in spice and sugar. Strain into mugs and drink while hot.