Coffee Desserts

The source for the following recipes is:


Coffee: A Connoisseur's Companion
by Claudia Roden, 1994, Random House, Inc.

“Few beverages are as intoxicating, heartwarming and utterly pleasurable
as really good coffee. Flavour, body, colour, stimulation and above all
aroma play their part in making it so. It is not surprising that it is firmly
established as one of the essential pleasures of our life today.”
~ Claudia Roden

“Coffee plays a part in a remarkable variety of sweet dishes, as do chocolate
and the vanilla pod, both of which coffee often partners. A good companion
to most spirits and spices, it goes well with all nuts, especially with caramelized
and crushed pralines. It gives a subtle surprise flavour to a few sauces and syrups
for fruits such as baked apples, fried bananas and stewed pears, or served with
ice creams, mousses, puddings and soufflés. Various creams and custards find
an original alternative with the addition of a little coffee. Many dishes have
evolved around the special qualities of coffee and these often go under the
name of Mocha."
 

Parfait au Café

“Light and creamy and as perfect as the name implies.”

Serves 6

4 heaped tablespoons freshly roasted medium ground coffee
300 ml (1/2 pint; 1 1/4 cups) single (light) cream
300 ml (1/2 pint; 1 1/4 cups) double (heavy) cream
4 egg yolks
150 g( 5 oz; 2/3 cup) sugar

Bring the single (light) cream to the boil. Add the coffee, stir well and let
it infuse for at least twenty minutes. Beat the sugar and the egg yolks in a
bowl. Strain the cream through a fine sieve into the egg mixture and beat
vigorously until well blended. Set the pan over boiling water and stir until
the mixture thickens like a custard. Leave to cool. Whip the double cream
until fairly stiff and fold into the cream custard. Freeze in an ice tray
for three to four hours. Stir after an hour, bringing the frozen sides into
the middle.
There are many delicious variations to this basic coffee ice cream. You
may add Tia Maria or Curaçao, or you may fold in grated chocolate or a
chocolate sauce. Crushed burnt almonds or praline made with almonds
or hazelnuts may be stirred into the cooled custard before freezing.
Chopped boiled chestnuts macerated in maraschino are delicious mixed
into the ice cream before it is frozen. In France, scoops of these parfaits
are often served on a bed of whipped cream and decorated with chocolate-covered coffee beans. An irresistible coupe called ‘Jamaïque’ is pineapple
dice soaked in rum, covered with coffee ice and sprinkled with freshly pulverized coffee. Another, ‘Clo-Clo’ has broken marrons glacés (chest-
nuts preserved in sweet syrup) soaked in maraschino at the bottom of the coupe. These are covered with coffee ice cream decorated with vanilla-flavored whipped cream in which is embedded a single marron.

Coffee Syrup

A syrup to serve with ice creams and puddings.

Into a sugar syrup made by boiling 500 g/1 pound sugar and 150 ml
(1/4 pint; 2/3 cup) of water, stir two teaspoons of instant coffee and
four tablespoons of cocoa, and cook a little while longer.

Coffee Sauce

A sauce to serve with ice creams and puddings.

Beat two eggs. Add 150 ml (1/4 pint; 2/3 cup) of strong hot coffee
gradually, beating well. Add a pinch of salt and 50 g (2 oz; 1/4 cup)
of sugar, and stir over boiling water until the sauce thickens. Do not
let it curdle. Chill. Just before serving, fold in 150 ml (1/4 pint;
2/3 cup) of thick whipped cream.

Chocolate and Coffee Sauce

Another sauce to serve with ice creams and puddings.

Melt 100 g/1/4 lb of bittersweet chocolate broken into pieces in 30 ml
(1 fl oz; 1 tablespoon) of strong coffee and stir well. Let it cool and add
50 g (2 oz; 4 tablespoons) of butter, a little at a time, beating until it is
thoroughly blended.

Coffee Mousse

Serves 6

A light and fragrant dessert.

Make 150 ml (1/4 pint; 2/3 cup) of fresh, extra-strong coffee using three heaped tablespoons of a medium roast. While this is still hot, stir in 15 g
(1/2 oz; 1 tablespoon) of powdered unflavoured gelatine until dissolved.
Beat three egg yolks* with three or four tablespoons of sugar in a bowl
over a pan of hot [not boiling] water until thick and creamy. Remove
from the pan and continue to beat until it has cooled. Gradually stir in the coffee and gelatine mixture and 150 ml (1/4 pint; 2/3 cup) of single (light) cream, and beat well. Whisk the three egg whites until they are stiff, then gently fold into the coffee mixture. Pour into a wet mould and chill until
it is set.
This mousse may also be scented with a vanilla pod (bean). Other
excellent alternative addition are rum, Kirsch and Cognac.

*Egg Safety Information

Pots de Crème à la Javanaise

Serves 6

600 ml (1 pint; 2 1/2 cups) milk
3 tablespoons medium roast ground coffee
3 tablespoons sugar
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg

Bring the milk to the boil with the ground coffee and allow to infuse a few minutes. Strain. Stir in the sugar. In a bowl, lightly beat together the three
egg yolks and one whole egg. Gradually pour in the milk, beating well.
Pour the custard into ramekins. Place in a tray with water reaching up to
two-thirds of the height of the pots. Bake in a preheated moderately slow
oven 160 degrees C, 325 degrees F (gas 3) for about 45 minutes or until
the cream has set.
For Pots de Crème au Mocha, melt 50 g (2 oz; 1/2 cup) chocolate,
broken into pieces, in the milk at the same time as the sugar.

Charlotte Malakoff au Café

Serves 12 or more

250 g (1/2 pound) softened unsalted butter
175 g (6 oz; 2/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
1 egg yolk
175 g (6 oz; 2/3 cup) coarsely ground almonds or
walnuts, or a mixture of both
90 ml (3 fl oz; 3/8 cup) coffee made with 3 tablespoons
ground coffee
400 ml (3/4 pint; 2 cups) cream, whipping, or a
mixture of single (light) and double (heavy)
40 sponge fingers [ladyfingers]
1 small glass rum, coffee liqueur or Cognac
300 ml (1/2 pint; 1 1/4 cups) milk
Toasted split almonds

Cream butter and sugar for three or four minutes until soft. Beat in the
egg yolk and the coffee until a smooth cream. Stir in the ground almonds
or walnuts. Beat 400 ml (3/4 pint; 2 cups) of whipping cream, or 300 ml
(1/2 pint; 1 1/4 cups) of double (heavy) and 150 ml (1/4 pint; 2/3 cups) of
single (light) cream, until stiff and fold into the almond and coffee mixture.
Line a round cake tin – about 8 cm (3 in) high and 20 cm (8 in) in diameter
– with greaseproof paper [parchment or wax paper]. Dip the sponge fingers [ladyfingers] in the milk mixed with the rum, Cognac or liqueur for a few seconds only. Turn them over once and do not let them become saturated. Line the bottom and sides of the tin with them. Turn half of the almond
coffee cream into the lined mould. Arrange a layer of the sponge fingers
[ladyfingers] over it. Repeat with another layer of cream and sponge
fingers [ladyfingers]. Trim the tops of the sponge fingers [ladyfingers]
lining the sides if necessary. Cover with greaseproof paper. Put in the
refrigerator for a few hours at least, preferably overnight, before serving.
The cream must be chilled firm.
Remove the greaseproof paper. Run a knife around the inside of the
mould and turn the dessert out onto a serving dish. Peel the greaseproof
paper from the top and return to the refrigerator until serving time.
Decorate with toasted split almonds, and serve with whipped cream.
 

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