Tag: coffee beans recipe

Chocolate brownies with coffee icing

Posted on by Sara Walker

chocolate-browniesThis could possibly be the ultimate indulgence – rich, gooey chocolate brownies topped with squidgy coffee icing. These are great for a dinner party, served with vanilla ice cream, or make in small batches for a treat.

You’ll need (makes 8 – 12):

For the brownies

  • 180g butter or margerine, softened
  • 180g good quality dark chocolate
  • 85g plain flour
  • 3 large freerange eggs
  • 40g cocoa powder
  • 270 sugar
  • 60g walnut pieces (optional)

For the icing:

  • 60g butter, softened
  • 120g icing sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder

What to do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and grease and base line a 20cm square tin..
  2. Break the chocolate into pieces and put it in a large heatproof bowl. Add the butter. Melt the mixture in the microwave in short bursts until fully melted. Allow to cool.
  3. Beat in the eggs, then gradually add the sugar, mixing until fully combined. Gradually add in the flour and cocoa powder, then stir in the walnut pieces.
  4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, and smooth off the top. Bake for 20 minutes, then take the tin out and shake it. If it wobbles in the middle, put it back in for another 5 minutes. You’re aiming for sticky and gooey in the middle rather than baked solid.
  5. Leave to cool in the tin completely, then turn out onto a chopping board and peel off the paper.
  6. Make the icing. Beat all the ingredients together until you’ve got a smooth, glossy paste then spread it evenly over the cake. Cut into small squares, and store in an airtight tin until required, up to two weeks.

The perfect partner for these rich little cakes is a large cup of your favourite coffee. Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we stock a wide range of coffee beans and coffee related products, including instant coffee powder, ideal for all your drinking and cooking needs. To find out more, please visit our website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

Vietnamese iced coffee

Posted on by Sara Walker

veitnamAlso known as ca phe da, meaning literally ‘ice coffee’, this drink is a traditional recipe in Vietnam. Although it’s normally served black, there’s also a version with milk known as ca phe sua da.

Coffee was introduced into Vietnam in the late 19th century by French colonists, and has since gone from strength to strength due to the favourable growing conditions. It’s particularly well-suited to the Vietnamese highlands, and Vietnam is now one of the major players in the world coffee market.

As fresh milk is limited, traditional Vietnamese coffee is made with sweetened condensed milk, which produces a thick, rich drink.

If you’d like to recreate Vietnamese coffee yourself, you’ll need a Vietnamese coffee filter, available from online retailers. This little metal cup sits on top of the coffee mug, and has dozens of tiny perforations in the bottom to act as the filter and remove the grounds.

Put three good tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk into a measuring jug, and add some crushed ice. Put a few teaspoons of coarsely ground coffee, made from freshly roasted coffee beans, into the top of the filter, sit the filter on the jug and add boiling water. Wait for the water to drip through, then stir vigorously to mix the thick condensed milk and the coffee together. Pour into a glass or mug, and drink. If you like, you can also pour the mixture through a sieve to remove the crushed ice.

This makes a great cooling drink for hotter days, and works perfectly with our Super Forte coffee beans, a blend made from 100% Vietnamese beans. This intense, full blend is already roasted to perfection, but when you grind it, choose a coarser grind that usual for the most authentic results.

For more information about our range of coffee beans and coffee accessories, please visit our main website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.