Kahlua ‘N’ Cream Mocha Semifreddo

 

I love a good coffee. I love everything about it…the intoxicating smell as it brews and that deep roasted, caramelized bean flavor that a good coffee offers.

So, it goes without saying that I also love anything coffee flavored.One of my favorite drinks when I was younger was Kahlua and cream and I must confess that my version usually included more Kahlua than cream, but it was definitely something I enjoyed in my youth and still do today. When my aunt Despina shared her homemade Tia Maria recipe with me, I was in heaven. If you’ve never had Tia Maria, it is very much like Kahlua but not as boozy. I love this stuff so much and now that I had the recipe, I knew I never had to worry about ever running out of it. I not only use it in drinks, but they syrupy consistency of Kahlua also allows me to drizzle it over cake layers, puddings and even ice cream or in this case, my espresso semifreddo.

If I’m having a morning cuppa joe instead of my white or green tea, I will brew my coffee but I have used a good quality instant in a pinch. My ‘go to’ instant coffee was always Medaglio D’ Oro which I also used in many of my desserts for a really great coffee flavor. I recently switched to Starbuck’s new VIA instant coffee that I was introduced to at the BBQ festival in DC where iced coffee samples were being given away along with some coupons. I’m not a huge Starbucks supporter because I don’t believe that your regular weekly consumption of coffee should amount to a small car payment, but this is something I can make at home for a reasonable price. You are looking at about .66c per portion if you purchase it at Costco or Walmart versus the .83c per portion price you will pay at Starbucks…and if you happen to get it on sale, you can further drop that portion cost to  .53c per packet. It still costs more than most instants, but has a much better flavor.

Oh, and one more thing…if you are going to buy the new VIA coffee, stick to the Colombian or French Roast flavors…the Italian Roast should mimic more of an espresso type of flavor and really fails to deliver.

Mocha Semifreddo
6 yolks
¼ cup powdered sugar (add to yolks)
3 Tablespoon Kahlua
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar (add to heavy cream)
2 tablespoon instant coffee
Hot Fudge or you can make some quick ganache

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the heavy cream with the powdered sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Once whipped, put the cream in another bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. Next, add your yolks to the same bowl you just whipped your cream in along with the other quantity of sugar, Kahlua and instant coffee.

Whisk this over simmering water until it is very warm to the touch, but not hot. Make sure that the bowl does not touch the hot water or the eggs will scramble. Once it is very warm, remove the bowl and attach it to the mixer along with the whisk and beat this until very fluffy and completely cool.

Once cool, whisk in half of your whip cream until it is all incorporated and then fold in the other half, cover and freeze for a few hours or overnight.


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