I have a wonderful Aunt and her name is Despina..we call her Daisy for short. She is the most kindhearted, thoughtful, quirky, eccentric and generous person you will ever meet. She is my mother’s youngest sister, and dare I say, my favorite of the family. I share many things in common with her, and the most important one is a love of baking and cooking. She has her “Food Bible” of recipes that she carries with her everywhere she goes, and when she came to visit me here in in the USA a few years ago, you guessed it, the Food Bible came with her…when she returned home to Australia she called one day absolutely frantic that she could not find her book of recipes…thank goodness we found it and promptly returned it to her! I would have probably been in a rare state too, had I lost a book with over 40 years of recipes in it! Anytime I need a recipe, my lovely and beautiful Aunt Daisy is always quick to share. I will be sharing many of her recipes with you in the coming weeks, but today I will share her famous recipe for a Homemade Tia Maria liquer.
If you are a fan of Kahlua, then you have probably also heard of Tia Maria. Both of them are very pricey coffee based dessert drinks that many of us young girls heartily drank in our youth…we made Black Russians and the creamier White Russians. But I will tell you that after you make this the first time, you will never go and buy another bottle again!
Homemade Tia Maria Liquer
1-1/2 cups strong espresso coffee
1-1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 split vanilla bean
1-1/2 cups good brandy
Measure the coffee into a medium sized stainless steel pot, then add the brown sugar. Split the vanilla bean by cutting off both ends, and gently running your knife lengthwise down the center of the pod, cutting through only the top layer. Gently pry open the flesh and run the flat part of your knife down the center to remove all of the seeds. Add all of the seeds and the pod to the mixture in the pot and lastly add 1/2 cup of the brandy. Cook on moderate heat for 15-20 minutes until very syrupy and remove from heat and then add the last 1 cup of brandy…stir well and let it cool uncovered. Put this into a sterilized jar (and lid), cover well and store in the refrigerator. You can keep the vanilla pod in the liquid for a stronger flavor or you can remove it. Serve by itself over ice or add some heavy cream for a truly heavenly creation.
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