Old New Orleans Style Cafe Brulot Recipe |
Day & Night at the Cafe Du Monde (Images courtesy of Original Cafe Du Monde)
Bring a bit of New Orleans home with this recipe using the coffee and chicory enjoyed by visiotrs and locals alike, whether it's served with beignets in the morning at the Cafe du Monde or to cap off a fine meal at one of the Big Easy's many great restaurants. Jules Alciatore created Café Brûlot Diabolique, at world-renowned Antoine's restaurant in the 1890s. His flaming concoction of coffee, brandy, and spices later became a popular way to disguise alcohol during Prohibition.
Chicory is made from grinding the roots of the endive plant. The practice of blending it with coffee was introduced to New Orleans by residents of French ancestry during the Napoleonic era, when nearly constant fighting made keeping supplied with coffee very challenging. Resourceful coffee lovers in France had crafted the blend in order to stretch those supplies and the uniquely flavored beverage became a tradition that has now been part of everyday life in New Orleans for two centuries.
A visit to one of the Big Easy's fine restaurants such as Antoine's in the French Quarter will afford an opportunity to see Cafe Brulot flambe'd on a gueridon at your table. But if you can't make the trip right away, you can use this recipe to get a taste of New Orleans in the comfort of home.
Ingredients for 8-10 cups
• One 4" Cinnamon stick
• 12 Whole cloves
• Zest of 2 oranges
• 1 Whole orange (optional)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 6 Lumps of sugar
• 8 Ounces Cognac
• Ounces Curacao (optional)
• 1 Quart of Coffee & Chicory
Preparation
1. In a brulot bowl or 2-quart chafing dish, warm and mash together the cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, lemon zest and sugar.
2. Add brandy and Curacao and ignite.
3. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
4. Add in coffee, slowly mixing until flames die down.
Serve in demitasse cups.
To view a recipe for a classic New Orleans flambe'd dessert, a perfect accompaniment to Cafe Brulot, go to: Bananas Foster Recipe
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