Coffee Flavored Summer Dessert Recipes
Have you still not put up your winter coats? I know my closet is still stuffed full of our family's ridiculous outerwear collection. We're not all going totally bonkers, either; despite Memorial Day being just around the corner we are experiencing our coldest May in the history of Cincinnati! The last coldest was in 1917 and it wasn't even as cold, so I think it's safe to say this is as cold as we can remember. Despite still being frigid, pool openings and family gatherings are FINALLY almost here! There are many classic dishes to whip up for these sorts of events, but something that always seems missing for me is some coffee. Usually it's too warm to be serving a big 'ol pot (and really, does it go with hot dogs?). So, how do you sneak it in there? There are several Kidd Creations we'd love to share with you! These smooth, quick desserts are simple and easily prepared, and they are amazing without breaking the bank.
1. Coffee Mousse
I recently discovered a way that I could finally tolerate cranberry sauce. It sent me into the satiny, pillowy, amazing, world of mousse. There's so much you can make into a mousse, and if the texture can make me like cranberry sauce then I guarantee you can't go wrong with turning something actually delicious into one. (I'm just kidding about the cranberry sauce, I know some people love it and some people despise mousse. If that's you, the next recipe is probably more your speed.)
Not only is this recipe simply delicious and light and summery, but it's also soo easy and I'm always impressed with the versatility of unflavored gelatin (something I now always keep in the cupboard). To make the mousse you will need some unflavored gelatin, heavy whipping cream, some STRONG cooled coffee or espresso (I used french pressed), and a little bit of sugar. First, you'll want to make a little gelatin concentrate. You do that by microwaving about half cup water to boiling, then mix in one packet of your unflavored gelatin. Set that to the side to cool. As that cools, whip up your coffee whipped cream. I use 1 cup heavy whipping cream and my electric hand mixer. As a peak begins to form, slowly add 2 Tbsp of sugar and your cooled half cup of coffee. It's important that you slowly add these ingredients as you whip continuously so as not to break your cream. You can also add a small splash of vanilla (or flavor of choice) extract. I've made an Amaretto coffee mousse with Kidd Amaretto blend and some almond extract. For the classic mousse though, vanilla just helps to elevate the flavor a tad.
Once you have your whipped coffee cream forming relatively stiff peaks (took me about 10 minutes with the electric mixer), fold in the cooled gelatin mixture and a teeny pinch of salt. After you have mixed that in, your mixture is ready! Divide the mousse into smaller cups or bowls and place in the fridge to set for a couple hours. Once set it should give you that satisfying jiggle. You can serve as is, with a dash of whipped cream, or with some delicious chocolate drizzle. These coffee mousses are the perfect cool treat after a cookout.
You Will Need:
-1 packet unflavored gelatin
-1 cup heavy whipping cream
-2 tablespoons granulated sugar (a pinch more if needed)
-4 oz cooled STRONG Kidd Coffee of your choice. This recipe is great with Queen City Espresso or even Highlander Grogg, just make sure your coffee is dark. You want to taste it.
-Dash (lidfull) Vanilla extract
-Pinch of Salt
Quick Overview:
-Make gelatin mix. Boil ½ cup water and mix in one packet unflavored gelatin. Set aside to cool.
-Beat together heavy whipping cream, ½ cup cooled strong coffee, 2 T sugar, vanilla extract until about doubled in volume and formed into stiff peaks
-Fold cooled gelatin mixture into whipped coffee mixture
-Dish into serving dishes and allow to set in fridge
-Serve to family as the perfect cool-down pick me up!
2. Coffee Cake
Coffee Cake is technically any cake meant to be served with coffee, but I like to take mine a little more literally. In my house we make a killer coffee cake that makes a delicious summer time breakfast. This one is quick and easy, I'm all about quick and easy. So I get a standard cake mix from the store, Duncan Hines or whatever. I go for the Perfectly Moist French Vanilla cake. Magic tricks here are; replace some of those standard ingredients. I add one more egg than the recipe calls for, switch the vegetable oil for equal parts butter, AND… switch the water for coffee! When it's all whipped together you should have a nice uniform batter. I put that in a Bundt cake pan to bake at 335°F for about half an hour. You can test that the cake is done with a simple stick of a tooth pick, if it comes out dry then you're good to go. This cake is delicious topped with a sugar glaze or a crumb cake top or you can even throw some chocolate chips on top to melt into a little bonus caffeine crown. Delicious, and it has coffee in it so it doesn't even matter that it's cake for breakfast!
You Will Need:
-Perfectly Moist Duncan Hines French Vanilla cake mix
-4 eggs
-⅓ cup butter
-1 cup cooled brewed coffee
Quick Overview:
-Mix all ingredients
-Bake at 335°F for approx. Half hour- 40 mins
-Pull cake. Top with icing/chocolate/leave plain
-Let Them Eat Cake!
3. Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans
This is my personal favorite, and honestly the one I have to be careful with or I won't stop eating them. All you'll need is some heavy cream, chocolate chips, espresso beans, and some form of double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler don't worry- I'll tell you how to make one.
I start off with just some fresh whole Queen City Espresso from Kidd Coffee (available in store or online). Then I take one cup of dark chocolate chips (I like dark chocolate. You can use whatever chocolate you'd like.) and double boil it with one half cup heavy cream. To make a quick easy double boiler, put on a small sauce pan of water and bring it to a boil. Put your chocolate and cream in a glass mixing bowl that will fit on top of your boiling water, then put that bowl on top of the boiling water. Whisk constantly until your chocolate is liquidy and smoothe. Remove from heat once all lumps are gone. Then, you dump your espresso beans (it should be about equal parts, so 1.5 cups should be about right) right in to that melted chocolate! Mix them around until all coated, then take them out and lay them on a cookie sheet to dry. I use my spatula with little holes to get them out, but a fork works too. On the cookie sheet you can put them in clumps no-bake cookie style or you can try to make them all singles. That takes a bit of extra time so I usually just go the clump method, I eat them by the handful anyway.
You Will Need:
-Queen City Espresso Beans (1.5 cups)
-Chocolate Chips (1 cup)
-Heavy Cream (.5 cups)
Quick Overview:
-Melt chocolate with heavy cream. Double boil or, if you want, you can microwave.
-Dump espresso beans in melted chocolate and coat
-Remove beans and set to dry on cookie sheet
-Eat and get pumped! Don't forget to tell Gramma these are espresso beans not raisins!
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Affogato
This is a super simple recipe only requiring two ingredients. Though simple in nature, the flavor combinations are endless! An affogato is simply fresh brewed espresso over ice cream. I like keeping it classic and sticking to a nice french vanilla ice cream, but you could get wild and try it with some Rocky Road or Raspberry Chocolate Chip! Just whip up a quick bit of espresso (you can do this with an Aeropress, if you don't have an espresso machine!) and pour gently over your ice cream of choice.
You Will Need:
-Espresso
-Ice cream
Quick Overview:
Pour the espresso over the ice cream… Bam… Delicious dessert.
5. Mocha Brownies
This next idea is a little more involved than the rest...But is also super delicious and worth the time. Do you have a get together or potluck coming up anytime soon? Consider trying out these coffee ground brownie bars, sure to please anyone who loves chocolate and coffee.
Ingredients needed:
8 cups strong black coffee
3 tbsp of fine coffee grounds
3 tbsp of cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 cups of white sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp of baking powder (not soda)
Step One: Put your coffee in a saucepan on medium heat and reduce it until it becomes 2/3 cup worth of a thick coffee concentrate.
Step Two: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spread olive oil around an 8x8 pan to get a clean brownie lift.
Step Three: Combine your wet ingredients in one bowl and your dry in another. Adding one ingredient at a time and mixing thoroughly. Once your dry and wet ingredients are mixed separately, go ahead and combine them into one bowl and mix again. Then your ready to spread the mixture into your 8x8 pan. - If you want to be extra fancy, you could add some chocolate covered espresso beans on top of your mixture.
Step Four: Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until you can poke it with a toothpick, and it come out clean! Then cut into your desires shapes.
Voila! And you have decadent mocha bars sure to impress at any gathering.
Authors: Alex Johnson & Chelsea Roberts
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