Valentine’s Day Treats for Coffee Geeks

Valentine’s Day is the opportunity to celebrate love, and if you or your loved one can be classified as a “coffee geek,” it’s a time to celebrate that love over a cup of delicious coffee.

Add a little pizazz to your to Valentine’s Day by surprising your sweetheart with a fresh, hand crafted cup of local coffee and one (or both!) of the following perfectly paired sweets recipes.

Both the Café au lait Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and the Café Noir Brownie are delicious together or separately and taste excellent when paired with a cup of perfectly brewed single origin coffee.

Café au lait et Vanilla Bean Ice Cream:

A heavenly combination of high quality cream and vanilla bean infused with a perfectly roasted single origin coffee, this recipe is excellent ANY time of the year, and pairs perfectly with the Café Noir Brownie.  It is wonderful topped with shaved dark chocolate, and is sure to be a special treat for that special someone, whether or not they share the same love for coffee as you do.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of Organic Half & Half
• *12 grams of Coarsely Ground Single Origin Coffee
• 1 Vanilla Bean
• 1 1/2 Cups of Organic Sugar
• 10 Organic Egg Yolks
• 3 Cups of Organic Heavy Whipping Cream

*Oak Cliff Coffee Roaster’s La Milagrosa Coffee from Panama was used in this recipe.

Tips And Tricks:

• Before making, check with the size of your ice cream maker and the amount of liquid it can hold at a time (for example, the Kitchen Aid Ice Cream Maker is smaller and holds half of the ingredients listed at a time, so all the ingredient amounts were divided in half).

• Follow your ice cream maker’s manufacturer instructions for set up.  In this recipe a KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker was used, and was placed in the freezer the night before.

• If you do not have an ice cream maker, you can still make this recipe, just follow steps 1-11 and let the mixture freeze for a minimum of 6 hours in a plastic container and stir every hour to keep the texture creamy.

Steps:

1. Chill a metal bowl in the freezer.
2. Add half & half  to the saucepan and heat to 195°F – 205°F (just before the mixture begins to boil)
3. Add coarsely ground coffee and allow to steep for 4 min.
4. Using a cheese cloth or fine wire mesh strainer, remove the ground coffee and pour mixture temporarily into a separate container.
5. Return mixture to the saucepan and heat, but do not boil.  Add sugar and vanilla bean seeds (slice open vanilla bean pod and scrape the interior walls to remove the black seeds) and stir until dissolved.
6. While mixture is heating on stove, beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer (or wire whisk) until they have paled in color and have thickened slightly.
7. Add half of the coffee mixture in the saucepan to the eggs in the mixing bowl a tablespoon at a time so as not to cook the egg yolks and while whisking constantly.
8. Add the egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining coffee mixture, and return to low to medium heat, stirring often.
9. While mixture is heating, place heavy whipping cream into the chilled metal bowl.
10. The mixture in the saucepan should have increased in thickness and become the consistency of a custard or pudding.  Once it has reached the desired consistency, slowly pour the saucepan mixture into the chilled heavy whipping cream and stir constantly until fully combined.
11. Chill the mixture completely for about 2 hours in the freezer, or until completely cold.
12. Add mixture to ice cream maker and watch the magic happen.
13. Most ice cream will be “soft serve” texture, but if you place it into the freezer for 1-2 hours after being made, it will harden into the ice cream consistency we all know and love.
14. Store ice cream in an air tight container and place a piece of cellophane over the ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming.

Optional:

Add chocolate chunks or chocolate shavings over the top prior to serving.

Total time to make: 2 hours 35 min

Servings: 6 cups

Try This Coffee Shop Recipe:

Affogato 

1. In a large glass, place 2 scoops of your house-made Café au lait Ice Cream.
2. Pour a Double-Shot (2 ounces) of Espresso or 4 ounces of drip coffee over the top

Optional:

Top with shaved chocolate.

Café Noir Brownie:

The Easy Café Noir Brownie is as simple to make as the name implies.  It is an excellent chocolaty treat that is delicious whether you enjoy the flavor of coffee or not. Pair this treat with a cup of single origin coffee, or even a glass of organic milk!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of your favorite brownie mix & ingredients listed on the box
• 1 High Quality Cacao Bar

Steps:

1. Chop your High Quality Cacao Bar into ¼ inch chunks
2. *Substitute the water in the directions on the box for iced coffee or espresso.
3. Mix all of the ingredients and blend until fully combined
4. Bake according the directions on the box (typically 45 minutes or until a toothpick can be stuck in the middle and comes out clean)
5. Enjoy!

*Oak Cliff Coffee Roaster’s La Milagrosa Coffee from Panama was used in this recipe

Optional:

Serve á la mode with the Café au lait et Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Total time to make: 1 hour

Servings: 6 large brownies