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Mystical fruit of Africa...

AS FAR as African legends go few are told with as much glee and mystique as the one about the marula tree and the life-enhancing characteristics inherent in its fruit.

Listening to the tales invokes a sense of awe about the tree that grows only in sub-Saharan Africa.

It can be found in some parts of South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, where it is brewed and offered as an appeasement to ancestral spirits.

The annual Marula Festival, which is celebrated at the king's royal residence, attests to the sanctity of the fruit as a heritage of many sub-Saharan communities.

The allure of the fruit does not extend to human beings only, with elephants and even baboons known to claim their fair share of a fruit reported to be rich in vitamin C and potassium.

The fruit reportedly prompts rowdy parties among baboons, who are known to enjoy it with gay abandon.

Of all the legends about the tree, none is told with so much of a glint in the eye and relish as the one about the fruit's aphrodisiac qualities.

It also called a Marriage Tree among the Zulu due to ancient belief that it also boosts fertility and energy, hence some tribal weddings held under its shade to draw on these mystical qualities.

My interest in the fruit, though, was hardly sparked by its capacity to ignite fires between the covers but rather by the current change of seasons, which is sending a nagging chill to the wind these days.

Which beckons something to give us a bit of warmth by the fireside. Of course, a nicely spiked cocktail should do us no harm, which is why I thought of a liqueur-based cocktail to tide us over the bone-chilling season.

For this, I chose a cocktail that has Amarula Liqueur as a base due to its popularity not only here but many parts of the world.

That said, the point hardly precludes responsible drinking or promotes alcoholism as one online reader argued last week on the Sowetan website.

Embracing wine or whisky as a lifestyle drink does not even remotely encourage readers of this column to become educated alcoholics.

The column is meant to be fun and accessible while debunking the myth that wine is a drink of snobs.

Well, if you're battling to remove the Easter cobwebs after a lazy, long weekend, there's still relief on the horizon by way of the Amarula eggnog cocktail.

The Amarula eggnog cocktail

Serves four people and requires six eggs, ¼ cup sugar, four cups of milk, one teaspoon vanilla, a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon, 90ml Amarula, premium brandy, grated nutmeg for garnishing.

Method: Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the sugar and beat until the sugar has dissolved. Add half of the milk and mix well.

Place on gentle heat and mix uninterruptedly until the mixture thickens. Keep a careful eye on the mixture as it can overcook quite easily. If it looks like it is about to boil take it off the heat immediately.

Add the milk, nutmeg and cinnamon, mix well and place in the fridge to cool. If it has separated slightly, you can fix this when it is cool by using a stick blender. Once the mixture has cooled down, mix in the Amarula and brandy and garnish with grated nutmeg.

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