Drinks

I really wonder if there exists a world without Coffee and Hazelnut. The woman that I am, I did have varied combinations of these two everyday! Hazelnuts are simply the most consistently rewarding nuts. Lay your hands on them during autumn and you’ll experience them when they are youthfully mild and juicy. As hazelnuts dry out or are dried for storage, their persona emerges, one that can make other nuts seem dull.

Bake them gently, and that haunting taste deepens and becomes utterly seductive. Without hazelnuts, French praline is just a pile of caramel. Take hazelnuts down the savory route, and they give you world-class dips…..Ah well, in this slush, the hazelnut butter helps to add the much needed mild nuttiness!

As for the Bananas – they are mushy and everyone’s forever love. This is one fruit we all love to eat, any time of the day. Here banana goes extremely well with the coffee and becomes the base item of this crush.

The white chocolate combines well with all the ingredients. You don’t have to worry about getting the white chocolate syrup from the market. Simply take some cream, heat it and add the white chocolate to it. Mix well and whoa, it’s ready to be added to the crush! The same goes for hazelnut butter here, no fancy market-bought item. Simply grind the hazelnuts till it becomes a smooth silky paste (for about two minutes).

I like this crush strong. For me, it’s no honey in the recipe, really! I just add the honey as a topping when its finally in the glass and enjoy it. You can do without honey as well if you don’t prefer the other way. The little sweetness comes from the bananas and the white chocolate that has been added.

It’s kind of a healthier option when you are in the mood to indulge for something really cooling. It works way better to give you that extra kick than your favorite cold coffee crush or the frappuccino! If the icy thing doesn’t excite you, simply enjoy it as a super cold blend by adding less ice and more milk…I tell you, this works almost like a shot of tequila on a bad summer day!

Easy, weasy, smooth and silky….this crush will simply have you crushing all over it!

RECIPE:

Wonderfully creamy banana crush that is infused with coffee, hazelnut, and white chocolate. An indulgent drink for coffee lovers that is way healthier than your all-time favorite branded coffee! It is refined sugar-free, and SO delicious.

Ingredients:

3tsp Nescafe

50 ml milk

1-1/2 tbsp Hazelnut butter

2 tbsp White chocolate syrup

1 Full banana + small slices for garnishing

3 tbsp + 1 tsp Honey

2 digestive biscuits crushed

10-15 Ice Cubes

Method:

• Put all the ingredients except the honey, extra banana slices and crumbled cookie in a blender

• Blend all the ingredients together for a minute or two, until the mixture is thick and smooth
• Carefully pour the mix into a serving glass
• Garnish with the honey, crumbled biscuits, banana slices and enjoy!

I like coffee. A lot. Mostly all the high-calorie ones you get at Starbucks and other glorious coffee chains though even cold brews sometimes entice me much.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve ordered anything other than that, or an Americano, when at a coffee shop. Specialty drinks lean too far on the sweet side, filled with highly processed syrups and such. At home is a different story though! Much like food, I enjoy the chance to be creative and have control over the quality of ingredients going into the recipe.

Which is where this Cardamom and Coco Iced Coffee comes in. Smooth, bold, and chocolaty. A caffeinated boost and deliciously refreshing.

The cardamom here helps to give a new dimension to the coffee. It also helps to uplift your mood instantly and hits like a good bolt of lightning here! Remember to keep it mild so that you can enjoy a strong taste of all three- coffee, chocolate, and the cardamom.

Just keep the cubes in the freezer and whenever you are in the mood, just pop out those cubes into a glass, pour over the flavored milk, stir a bit and hola!!! this intoxicating yet mild and delectable drink is ready to be had anytime during the summers!

RECIPE:

Half brew, half chocolate milk, 100% delicious. A wholesome indulgence, no need for syrups here. Say yes to caffeine fueled chocolate milk.  You won’t regret it!

Ingredients:

12 gms Nescafe or any other coffee

250 ml warm water

250 ml Fresh milk

50 gms Chocolate powder

Method:

• Prepare the coffee ice cubes; mix the coffee with 250 ml of warm water along with cardamom powder and pour it into an ice cube tray. Then leave in the freezer.

• Pour the milk and chocolate powder into a milk pitcher. Use the steamer to steam the mixture.  If you don’t have a milk pitcher simply warm the milk a little and add the chocolate powder to it and mix well. If you are using a chocolate powder that doesn’t have sugar, then you can add sugar or honey separately according to taste.

• Be careful not to heat the milk above 40°C.
• In a glass put in 4 or 5 of the coffee ice cubes or more.
• Pour the chocolate milk over and garnish with chocolate flakes and enjoy!

Serve this chilled Pumpkin Spiced Latte over the next Thanksgiving party and notice how your friends go gaga over this. It also makes for a lovely drink on any given day. Why wait for any occasion? Just get the pumpkin and whip up the latte this weekend.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk or unsweetened soy milk

1 cup brewed Or Espresso Coffee

2 tbsp Pumpkin puree

I prefer making a fresh puree from a real pumpkin. For 2 tbsp of the pumpkin puree cut a big piece of the pumpkin (l/4 piece of a 2lb pumpkin), peel it off, take the seeds out and put it to boil. When it’s cooked, cool it down and blend. The puree is ready)

2 tbsp brown sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon powder

¼ tsp nutmeg powder

¼ tsp cloves (grind it to a paste)

¼ tsp black pepper powder

¼ tsp ginger

Vanilla Essence – not more than 8 drops. If you are taking vanilla extract, just a pinch of that is enough

Method:

• Take the puree, add all the spices and put it in a saucepan. Cook this on medium heat for about 3 minutes and then simmer and cook for another 2-3 minutes, till the mixture is fragrant and you get a strong aroma. While doing this, keep continuously stirring with a spatula.
• Then, add milk to the mixture and cook on medium heat. When the first boil starts coming up, bring to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes till the mixture is a little smoother.
• Take off from the heat and put the mixture in a blender along with coffee, vanilla, and sugar. Blend on high until the mixture is thick and frothy (1-2 minutes).

Serve your warm homemade Pumpkin spiced Latte with a dollop of whipped cream. Sprinkle some cocoa powder on top or just a spoonful of caramel sauce and whoa!!! You have already experienced heaven with the first sip!

You can also put the Pumpkin spiced latte in the refrigerator for some time (after cooling it down to room temperature). Then add a dollop of vanilla ice-cream on top. Sprinkle with a bit of cocoa or cut small pieces of canned pumpkin and put as a topping.