Cafe au Lait

Ingredients

• one-third full of hot but not boiled cream
• good clear coffee
• a teaspoon or so of sugar

Method

1. 1

   First heat the coffee cups and then fill each one-third full of hot but not boiled cream, filling up with good clear coffee.

2. 2

   If cream cannot be had, use boiled milk in any proportion liked, guided by the strength of the coffee.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The new practical housekeeping (1890) by Estelle Woods Wilcox, page 155. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Cafe au Lait. — First heat the coffee cups and then fill each one- third full of hot but not boiled cream, filling up with good clear coffee. Or when cream cannot be had, use boilea milk, in any pro- portion liked, being guided by the strength of the coffee. Hal- 188 DRINKS. and half is a good rule, though some prefer more and others less coffee. A little cream turned into the cup with hot milkjust before filling up with coffee is a great improvement. Frothed Vafe au Lait is made as above, putting spoonfuls of the whipped whites of eggs, slightly sweetened, on the top of each cup, heaping a little in the center. Coffee Syrup. — Take half pound best ground coffee, put it into a saucepan containing three pints water, and boil it down to one pint j boil the liquor, put it into another saucepan, well scoured, and boil it again. As it boils add white sugar enough to give the con- sistency of syrup ; take it from the fire, and when it is cool jiut in a bottle and seal. When traveling, if you wish for a cup of good coffee put two teaspoons of the sjrrup into an ordinary cup, and pour boiling water upon it, and it Is ready to use. A weaker syrup IS madcthus : To ever^ quarter pound ground coffee allow one smaU teaspoon powdered chicory, and one pint water. Let the coffee be freshly ground, and, if possible, freshly roasted ; put it into a filter with trie chicory and pour slowly over it the above proportion of boiling water. When it has all filtered through, warm the coffee sufficiently to bring it to the simmering point, but do not allow it to boil ; then filter it a second time, put it into a clean and dry bottle, cork it well, and it will remain good for several days. Two table- spoons of this essence are quite sufficient for a breakfast cup of hot milk. This, essence will be found particularly useful to those per- sons who have to rise extremely early, and ha\dng only the milk to make boiling, is very easily and quickly prepared. When the es- sence is bottled, pour about three tea-cups or hoiling water slowly on the grounds, which, when filtered through, will be a very weak coffee. The next time there is essence to be prepared, make this weak coffee boiling, and pour it on the ground coffee instead of plain water ; by this means a better coffee will be obtained. Never tnrow away the grounds without having made use of them in this manner, and always cork the bottle well that contains this preparation, until the day that it is wanted for making the fresh essence. Iced Tea. — To have it perfect and without the least trace of bit- ter, put tea in cold water hours before it is to be used, the night pre- vious if for breakfast or twelve-o'clock dinner, and in the morning if for tea ; the delicate flavor of the tea and abundant strength will be extracted, and there will not be a trace of the tannic acid which ren- ders tea so often disagreeable and undrinkable. Use only the usual ?uantity of tea. Put broken ice in it a few minutes before serving, ced tea can be served with a light froth like that of ale on top, if shaken with the ice in it in two glasses placed one over the other — ^the brims together. Another method is to prepare tea in the morning, making it stronger and sweeter than usual ; strain and pour into a clean stone jug or glass bottle, and set aside in the ice-chest until DRINKS. 189 ready to use. Drink from goblets without cream. Serve ice broken in small pieces on a platter garnished with well-washed grape leaves. Russian Tea. — Place in a teapot three heaped tablespoons Eng- lish breakfast tea, pour over it three pints boiling water, let infuse for four minutes, navor with vanilla and a few drops of lemonjuice, add a little powdered sugar and serve. Or a thin slice of lemon may be used instead of lemonjuice. Tea for Forty, — Have two and one-half gallons boiling water ready, put a quarter pound tea in a box made of perforated tin, or in a muslin bag, and drop it into the water, whicn must then be kept from boiling and set where it will be kept hot. May be served like coffee with whipped cream or a meringue of whites of eggs on each cup. ^^ • Tea au Lait — Beat a teaspoon or so of sucar

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.