Café au Lait Recipe

Before you start

Café au lait is the French breakfast coffee: brewed coffee, not espresso, softened with an equal amount of hot milk. It is gentler than a latte and closer to what many home kitchens in France actually pour each morning, often in a wide bowl suited to dunking bread or a croissant.

Two choices shape the cup. First, the coffee must be brewed stronger than you would drink it black, because half the volume will be milk; a French press or drip brew at about 1:12 holds up well. Second, the milk should be hot but never boiled. Around 65°C (150°F) keeps it sweet and silky, while boiling gives it a cooked, slightly eggy note and a skin on top.

Ingredients

• 13 g (about 2 tbsp) medium-dark roast coffee — ground for your brewer
• 160 ml (5½ oz) hot water — just off the boil, about 94°C (200°F)
• 150 ml (5 oz) whole milk
• 1 to 2 tsp sugar — optional

Method

1. Brew the coffee strong: combine 13 g of ground coffee with 160 ml of water just off the boil. In a French press, steep for 4 minutes, then press gently. You should get about 140 ml of dark, full coffee.
2. While the coffee brews, pour the milk into a small saucepan and warm it over medium-low heat, stirring now and then. Stop when it steams steadily and tiny bubbles appear at the edge, about 65°C (150°F). Do not let it simmer.
3. For a little froth, whisk the hot milk briskly for 15 to 20 seconds or use a handheld frother. Café au lait is not a foam drink, so a loose, light froth is plenty.
4. Warm the cup or bowl with hot tap water, then empty it.
5. Pour the coffee and the milk into the cup at the same time from two vessels, or pour the coffee first and the milk after. Aim for roughly equal amounts.
6. Taste and stir in sugar if you like. Serve right away, ideally with bread, a croissant or a tartine for dunking.

Tips for success

• If the drink tastes milky and weak, the coffee was too light. Use a darker roast or tighten the ratio to 1:11 rather than cutting the milk.
• A wide bowl cools faster than a mug. Warm it first, and keep the milk on the hotter side of the range.
• Leftover morning coffee works if it was brewed in the last half hour; reheated old coffee turns flat and bitter under the milk.

Substitutions

Whole milk

Two percent milk makes a lighter, thinner cup. Oat milk heats well and tastes sweet; choose a barista version so it does not separate in hot coffee.

French press coffee

Drip or pour-over coffee gives a cleaner, less heavy cup. Moka pot coffee works but is much stronger, so use about 80 ml with 160 ml of milk.

Sugar

Honey or maple syrup both dissolve easily and add their own flavor. Start with 1 tsp.

Variations

Chicory café au lait

Replace about a quarter of the ground coffee with roasted chicory. It adds a woody, slightly bitter depth that suits the hot milk.

Iced café au lait

Brew the coffee at the same strength, chill it, and pour it over ice with cold milk in equal parts.

Troubleshooting

There is a skin on the milk

The milk got too hot or sat in the pan. Heat it gently, stop at steaming, and pour it right away. If a skin forms, lift it off with a spoon.

The cup tastes sour and thin

The coffee was under-extracted, often from a grind that was too coarse or water that was not hot enough. Grind a little finer and use water just off the boil.

It goes lukewarm before you finish

Warm the bowl, keep the milk at about 65°C (150°F), and pour the coffee straight from the brewer rather than letting it sit.

Storage

Drink it fresh. Brewed coffee can be kept covered in the refrigerator for a day for iced drinks, but hot milk should not sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours; discard any leftover mixed cup.