If you
are cooking with wine, the rule is, make it, at the very least, one you would
happily sip. The same is true for coffee, and when coffee is the star
ingredient I like it to have a bit of personality.
Heathen that I am, I don’t
have a proper grinder so I used my blender – not processor – to crush the single origin specialty roasted coffee beans sent to me by Hancock & Abberton. I used a caffetiere/French press to brew the resultant medium ‘grind’ (you may remember, I blew up my coffee machine...)
This Mexican coffee from Finca Muxbal, which stands on the slopes of the active Tacana volcano on the border with Guatemala, is billed as having “flavours of peaches, cream and
sweet honey complemented by an exceptionally clean finish”. There was a
fruitiness that may or may not have been peaches and I couldn’t detect the cream
but there was rich sweetness to it. It was very smooth and the
advertised ‘clean finish’ was there - perfect to round off a meal.
I'd originally planned to flavour the granita with Baileys. However, having
tasted the coffee, I ditched the booze. There is enough going on in this cup
o’ Joe to let it stand on its own two feet! It is best to end a lunch rather
than a dinner with this dessert - unless you want your guests wide awake for
the night.
For the
lightest, simplest dessert imaginable, you will need...
500mls strong coffee, freshly brewed (I used double-strength)
90g runny honey (I used a light floral
honey)
Whipped cream
Finely chopped toasted walnuts or
finely shredded lemon zest
Add
the honey to the hot coffee and stir until dissolved. Pour into a shallow
freezer-proof container with a lid. Leave to cool to room temperature. Cover
and chill before transferring to the freezer. Set a timer for an hour then remove
from the freezer and beat the mixture with a whisk or fork to break up the
crystals that are starting to form. Replace in the freezer. Reset the timer and
repeat the beating process. Repeat every hour until you have a coffee snow (it
took me 5 hours but the actual work only takes a few minutes). Leave the lid off the container for another hour after the
final whisking to let any excess liquid evaporate. That’s it! Granita done! Covered,
it stores well in the freezer.
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| The 'puddle' stage... (I've got chills...) |
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| The 'slush' stage... (They're multiplying...) |
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| The 'perfect for skiing on' stage, and ready to eat (You're the one that I want!) |
To
serve, fluff up the granita with a fork and scoop a portion about the size of
an espresso into a pretty glass or cup. At this point it is a stunning, no fat dessert.
Throw caution to the wind and top with a little cream, and some
chopped toasted walnuts or shredded lemon zest (delicious with this coffee snow), or both. You could add a little
liqueur to the cream if you fancied it – Baileys, Tia Maria or Kahlua all work.
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| (Ooh, ooh, ooh, honey!) |
Disclosure: These are my personal views. I have not received any compensation from, nor have I any material connection with, the brands, products, or services I have mentioned.