When I’m writing a restaurant dessert menu, I feel a bit like Goldilocks in my quest to create a selection of sweets that’s “just right.” I try to balance the offerings so that all diners will find something that appeals to them. Chocoholics crave rich and dark chocolate desserts; other customers like to end their meal with something light and fruity; vanilla—no surprise here—is always a huge hit. But of all the flavors I have to work with, the one that I love the most is coffee. Why? Coffee is rich without being overwhelming. Its bitter edge elevates a dessert from one-dimensional sweetness to refined sophistication. And coffee as a flavoring couldn’t be easier to use. Adding it to custards, ice creams, cakes, and fillings usually consists of little more than grinding some beans and can even be as easy as opening a jar of instant coffee.

Different forms—bean, powder, and liquid—give you flavoring options.I love eating coffee desserts because I am addicted to the bittersweet flavor; I love making coffee desserts because coffee is a snap to use. Its intense flavor can be added to a dessert in a variety of ways.

全豆最有风味。For the most intense coffee flavor, I turn to whole beans, preferably espresso roast. Using whole beans that I crush or grind myself appeals to the purist in me. But more important, whole beans have more flavor than preground, since coffee loses its flavor and aroma exponentially after being ground. To extract even more flavor from the beans, I roast them in the oven for a few minutes to encourage their flavorful oils to emerge.

If I’m infusing a custard or an ice-cream base with coffee flavor, I crush the beans coarsely, with a rolling pin (put the beans in a zip-top bag first to keep them from flying all over the kitchen) or a food processor, and steep them in the liquid (the pieces get strained out later). If they’re going into cookie or cake batter, I grind the beans finer.

速溶咖啡和即时浓缩咖啡迅速增加风味。I recommend that people always keep a jar of instant espresso powder or instant coffee in the fridge. I like these freeze-dried forms because they add flavor immediately, without needing to steep as beans do. For instance, you can mix a little powder into ganache or pastry cream while it’s warm to quickly give coffee flavor to the dessert. And instant offers the convenience of “brewing” just a cup at a time. It also allows for a more standard result, since people brew coffee so differently, ranging from really weak to really strong.

咖啡利口酒添加带有Zing的甜咖啡风味。当我想爵士乐爵士乐时，我会转向咖啡利口酒，例如Kahlúa和Tia Maria。例如，我将其中一些混合到香草奶油奶油中，作为咖啡蛋糕酱。由于酒精基烹饪时的味道会降低，因此我通常在甜点煮熟后将利口酒添加到甜点中。一个例外是填充提拉米苏食谱;由于Sabayon仅在低火中短暂煮熟，因此我将利口酒与其他成分一起添加。

酿造的咖啡最有效地加强其他形式的咖啡。I find that using brewed coffee as the only coffee flavoring in a recipe doesn’t pack enough coffee flavor, so I almost always use it in conjunction with another form of coffee, a sort of coffee reinforcement (for how to do this, see “Brewing coffee for use in baking,” below).

酿造咖啡用于烘烤

To get the most flavor when using brewed coffee in a recipe, I almost always use espresso because it has a strong, dark flavor. But that’s at the restaurant, where I have access to an espresso machine. At home, I use regular coffee at double-strength. For example, most coffee makers suggest using 1 rounded teaspoon for every 6 ounces of water, so I use 2 rounded teaspoons. (Keep in mind that when making espresso, the amount of water called for, whether instant or whole beans, is only about 3 ounces, not the 6 ounces used for regular coffee.) For instant coffee, I recommend the same: use twice the powder for the amount of water that’s called for.

脱发还可以if you’re afraid your dessert will keep you awake. The process of decaffeination deprives coffee beans of some of their aroma and flavor, but a good brand of decaffeinated will work fine in these recipes.

Coffee pairs well with many favorite dessert flavors

Coffee and chocolate is a wonderful, if common, pairing that has its own name—mocha. Cinnamon is also delicious with coffee; cappuccino often comes sprinkled with it. In fact, the three flavors together are divine. I also like to pair coffee and caramel because they’re both strong flavors that play well off each other, as in the浓缩咖啡脆recipe。除了这些传统的咖啡组合外，还有其他一些脱颖而出。

Rich nuts round out the sharply intense flavor of coffee.我兼顾咖啡和杏仁 - 我喜欢撒在咖啡冰淇淋上的烤杏仁。榛子也很棒。尝试在Coffee Tea Cake食谱;咖啡风味不太明显，但是添加榛子会产生一种新的美味味道。将香草添加到咖啡甜点中也会产生类似的结果。