Coffee has had such an impact on the cooking industry. Ever since we discovered it, we have brewed coffee, roasted it, and created different kinds of edible cuisines with coffee. We have come to a stage where people start coming up with innovative and creative ideas for their food using coffee like some dishes are made with coffee. And to be honest, some of these foods would open up your perspective toward using coffee in food and especially the taste of it.
Though making coffee dishes are somehow limited to certain types of food only; however, you can expect a phenomenal taste in return. Thus, this article will inform you how cooking with coffee will yield an unexpected reaction from anyone that tastes it.
Contents
Beverages
I am aware that many of us have already tasted and understood the flavor of what coffee is and how addicting it can make us be. The most common usage of coffee is to brew a cup of coffee to wake us up in the morning. But there are more than just plain dark coffee such as Americano and Espresso, we have created a new list of delicious coffee beverages as well.
Ever since we started using milk with coffee, it kept getting better and better every year as creative people found a way to utilize coffee more effectively. The most common beverages that people usually order are Cappuccino, Latte, and Mocha.
Cappuccino
A Cappuccino is a coffee beverage that has 3 different mixtures with espresso coffee as the base of it, steamed milk as the second layer, and either whipped cream or foam as the finishing layer. Nowadays, baristas can use the cream to design pictures and decorations on the Cappuccino for the customers as well, which adds a soothing and welcoming touch on top of the sweet flavor of the Cappuccino.
Latte
Next on the list of the common beverages that used coffee as its base is the Latte. Latte has a lot of similarities to Cappuccino, which also uses espresso coffee as its base. Both also originated from Italy. What differentiates Latte from Cappuccino is that Latte will use more steam milk and a light layer of foam. This way it makes the coffee and steam milk blend in together more rather than a distinctive layer compared to Cappuccino Latte can be designed into unique arts by the barista as well.
Mocha
And the last on the list is Mocha. Mocha is the most different in terms of taste compared to the taste of coffee. The reason behind this is because Mocha has a base of coffee espresso and steam milk with an addition of chocolate flavor and sugar to sweeten it, usually in the form of cocoa powder and sugar. It is a good alternative for those that are not very compatible with the strong flavor of coffee, but still want to enjoy the coffee flavor. In addition, there are different variants of Mochas as well.
In some coffee shops, they could use white chocolate instead of dark chocolate as well. Mocha usually has the finishing touch with whipped cream, sugar powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and marshmallow. This is partly the reason why it is also commonly loved by juveniles rather than older people.
Dessert
Dessert offers various choices that you can use coffee as the main ingredient for your dessert. Since coffee is everyone’s favorite already, all that you need to make it more delicious is to sweeten it a little bit more to find that flavorful dessert you are trying to make. The dessert variants will be listed below with a further explanation of how you will savor those dishes after eating them.
Ice-Cream
The first on the list is ice cream. You must admit that everyone will submit themselves if they are offered to submerge their face in ice cream. Ice cream will always go well on any occasion, regardless if it is during a birthday, party, or even late-night snack, though one will stay late if they eat too much coffee ice cream. Nevertheless, you can always choose to use real coffee beans or you can make it with decaffeinated coffee beans, which is safer for the children.
The process of making a coffee ice cream is different from your morning brew coffee. The coffee beans will not be grounded, instead, you will heat the coffee beans with milk and other ingredients to extract that coffee flavor. After extracting, you can follow the process of making ice cream like you normally do. You can also add faint flavor in addition to just pure coffee, for example, vanilla or chocolate. Therefore, this is one of the easiest and delicious recipes that you can serve on different occasions.
Cookies
The next recipe is coffee-based cookies. If you already have your morning caffeine intake and still feel sleepy, this one is perfect for you. If you want to further enhance the flavor of just chocolate chip cookies, just mix coffee in it and you will be treated with the majestic flavor of coffee in addition to just normal chocolate chip cookies. This cookie recipe will be used with an espresso powder on top of a normal chocolate chip cookie recipe to achieve that coffee flavor. You can just use instant coffee as well.
However, beware of the amount of sugar that you are putting; since, instant coffee already has some amount of sugar in it. Lastly, to help you achieve that savory cookie you just baked is to add some flaky salt on top of it. You won’t believe how big of a difference it will make. So, don’t forget to give it a try.
Espresso Brownies
Here’s a different kind of dish that you can enjoy throughout your day, which is this bite-size coffee brownie. With just 7 ingredients, you will be able to get these cute and tasty little treats. Not only is it mixed with multiple nuts and other healthy ingredients, but it also provides a suitable outlook that will only serve in some fancy restaurants.
The recipes suggest that you can either use espresso powder or you can also use instant coffee, and the brownies will still be delicious. It is one of the easiest dessert recipes with just instant coffee, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract to get this tasty dish you can serve to your desired occasions.
Glazed-Coffee Doughnut
Another one on the list is more of an unhealthy option, but a bite of it will be phenomenal in my option. As for the glaze that must be poured on the doughnut, it will be made of espresso to get that coffee flavor. Just to make things balanced out and not feel guilty about filling your face with sweets, rather than using normal flour, try to use whole wheat flour instead. Since we use whole wheat flour, a normal recipe for a doughnut will use normal sugar.
The recipe suggested that you use brown sugar instead of normal sugar. The reason behind it is brown sugar will complement the color of the whole wheat flour together. Thus, when the doughnut is ready to serve, biting into it will make the doughnut color more uniformed both the doughnut and the glaze. Please note that, unlike normal doughnuts, we tend to fry them but this is baked in the oven.
Coffee Cake
The second best thing that you can have on your list from ice cream is probably cake. If you have not tasted a coffee cake yet, you definitely should, make sure to follow the correct recipes too. Not only is it different from our usual flavors like chocolate and strawberry, it just makes your taste buds tingle because of the buttery and cinnamon taste you get from that cake.
When biting into the cake you will taste the moist, savory mixtures of coffee and other ingredients together. Even the recipe is not difficult to find. You can serve it during parties and celebrations with these simple yet delicious cake recipes. Thus, this would serve well with your morning, afternoon, or evening cup of coffee.
Main Dish
Coffee Waffles
Waffles are usually the common pick for the Western people as the breakfast choice, which is not so common in the Eastern part of the world where we usually eat rice for all 3 meals. Regardless of that, if you are a coffee lover, you should try this recipe out. You can use maple syrup and fruits as side dishes similar to a normal waffle.
Eating coffee waffles can provide an additional boost on top of your morning coffee. So, if you ever get tired of eating just normal waffles, maybe give these coffee waffles a try on your next breakfast.
Steak
If you want to make someone unhappy to be happy, just offer them a steak. It will put a smile back on their face. If you didn’t know, coffee makes a great marinade sauce for a variety of meats especially pork and beef.
Moreover, the acidity of the coffee acts as tannin that you can find in wine, which helps amplify the flavor of the meat. And, rubbing coffee on top of your steak can help tenderize the meat to make that steak rich in flavor when you cook it. It will make your steak moist and sealed in all those flavorful ingredients inside the meat by creating a crust of flavor after cooking.
Another choice that you can use coffee with steak is to use it as a sauce for your meat. Though it is still a controversial topic to use coffee as a sauce for your meat. Because the most common that people tend to use is red wine.
Nevertheless, being different is not wrong, because the coffee sauce is usually served as a creamy sauce along with the steak, which is a mixture of red wine, milk, and cornstarch. This sauce will mix until they receive a thick and creamy consistency waiting to be served. This way it will enhance the flavor of the beef that is sitting inside that pot of flavorful coffee sauce.
There are multiple ways that you can smoke your food with different woods and other ingredients. Coffee can be used as a smoking ingredient as well. The darker and richer the bean varieties will pair up well with the red meat. Coffee beans are recommended to use instead of ground coffee because they will quickly burn if you use ground coffee.
Smoking with coffee will further enhance the aroma of the dish when you serve. Moreover, it will lock up all the juices inside, which makes the beef more moist and rich in flavor.
Coffee Beef Stew
You know sometimes you might have brewed coffee in the morning a little more than you expected. So, you don’t know what you do with that excess coffee. Here’s a little treat that you could cook for your next meal. With that excess coffee, you can use it to make coffee stew with beef. Stew is usually a popular meal during holidays and family dinner. And the best way to make it more delicious is to add coffee.
This coffee stew is recommended to use beef rather than pork. You could use pork too but it will be less rich than using beef. Therefore, next time when you have a party or dinner with your family and friends, please give this recipe a try.
Key Takeaways
Some people do love their morning caffeine intake but many people love cooking with dishes made with coffee. There is a whole world of recipes using coffee in their cooking. You have choices from beverages to dessert and main dishes. On the beverage side, there are so many recipes that you can make but the most common drinks are Cappuccino, Latte, and Mocha. Each of these drinks has its unique style and flavor.
For a more strong drinker with pick Cappuccino, where coffee is strongly focused in the drink. As for Latte, they usually use more steamed milk than Cappuccino, which also lessens the strength of the coffee. And lastly, Mocha is a drink for those that do not have a high tolerance for coffee but still want to enjoy a cup of coffee. Mocha is a mixture of espresso and chocolate. It is more popular among youngsters than older people.
On the dessert menu, you also have a vast variety from using coffee as well. You can make an ice-cream coffee, coffee cookies, espresso brownies, doughnut, cake, and the list goes on. All of these desserts shared one same characteristic, which is the savory, flavored taste you get from coffee. You can use these as snacks or even during important occasions, these desserts will look so good and appropriate.
As for the main dish, there are wide choices for you as well. If you usually eat waffles for breakfast, you should try out the coffee waffle. Not only does it boost your energy, but it is also even more delicious than the normal waffle you usually eat. In addition, there is also a whole recipe for using coffee with meat. We can use coffee as marination, roast, smoke, and coffee rub to enhance the flavor and texture of the meat.
Lastly, is the coffee beef stew. It is a meal that is suitable when cooking for family or friends during dinner or lunch. The coffee helps increase the richness and juice of the beef and broth. It will make everyone surprised at how coffee could be used in different ways. Thus, I truly recommend trying some of these dishes out sometimes. Because I know that everybody secretly loves dishes made with coffee.
References
- Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies | Broma
- Coffee Ice Cream | Simply Recipe | Elise Bauer
- Raw Vegan Espresso Brownies(Grain Free) | Food Doodle | Heidi
- WHOLE WHEAT ESPRESSO GLAZED MINI DOUGHNUTS (BAKED, NOT FRIED) | theviewfromgreatisland
- Easy Coffee Cake | Lil Luna | Kristyn Merkley
- Steak with Coffee Sauce | Food from Portugal
