Café Brûlot

Before you start

Café brûlot is a New Orleans after-dinner coffee: brandy and orange liqueur warmed with sugar, citrus peel and spices, set alight, then put out with strong hot coffee. It became a tableside tradition in the city's old Creole restaurants, though stories about who created it vary and are hard to confirm. At home, it is part dessert and part show.

The flame has a real culinary role. Brief burning caramelizes the sugar and toasts the citrus oil, so the drink tastes rounder than simply mixing coffee and brandy. But it also burns off only part of the alcohol, and flaming spirits in a home kitchen needs care. Work in a heatproof bowl or saucepan away from anything that can catch, have a lid nearby, and keep the bottle well away from the flame.

Ingredients

• 120 ml (4 oz) brandy or cognac
• 30 ml (1 oz) orange liqueur — such as curaçao or triple sec
• 2 tbsp (25 g) sugar
• 1 orange — peel removed in one long spiral, or several wide strips
• 1 lemon — peel in wide strips, no pith
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
• 6 whole cloves
• 480 ml (2 cups) hot, strong brewed coffee — chicory coffee is traditional in New Orleans

Method

1. Brew the coffee strong and keep it hot. Clear the area around the stove: remove paper towels and bottles, turn off any range hood fan, and tie back long hair and loose sleeves.
2. Put the brandy, orange liqueur, sugar, citrus peels, cinnamon and cloves in the bowl or saucepan. Recap the spirit bottles and move them away.
3. Warm the mixture over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, until it is warm to the touch but not simmering, about 2 minutes. Warm spirit lights easily; cold spirit may not light at all.
4. Turn off the burner. Holding the lighter at arm's length, ignite the vapors at the edge of the bowl. The flame may be nearly invisible in a bright kitchen, so dim the lights to see it.
5. Let it burn for 30 to 60 seconds, carefully lifting and stirring with the ladle so the sugar caramelizes lightly. If you are confident, raise a ladleful and pour it back so it streams flame, keeping it low over the bowl.
6. Slowly pour the hot coffee into the bowl to put out the flame. If any flame remains, cover the bowl with the lid. Stir, then ladle into cups, leaving the spices and peel behind.

Tips for success

• Never pour spirits from the bottle into a bowl that is flaming or still hot from a flame. Measure everything before you strike the lighter.
• A long orange spiral studded with cloves is the classic presentation; ladling flaming brandy down it gives the drink its theater, but simple strips taste the same.
• Use coffee strong enough to stand up to the spirits, about 15 g of coffee per 250 ml water.

Substitutions

Brandy

Dark rum makes a sweeter, rounder version. Bourbon works, though it changes the character away from the classic.

Orange liqueur

Grand Marnier gives a deeper, cognac-based orange flavor. Leaving it out makes a drier drink; add an extra strip of orange peel.

Flaming

Skip the flame and simply warm the spirit mixture gently for 3 minutes before adding the coffee. It is less caramelized but simpler and safer.

Variations

Café diable

Use less brandy, 90 ml, and add a strip of grapefruit peel and a few allspice berries.

Cold café brûlot

Chill the finished drink and serve over ice with an orange twist.

Troubleshooting

The brandy will not light

It is too cold. Warm it a little more, but not to a simmer, and light the vapors at the edge rather than the liquid.

It tastes harsh and boozy

The coffee was weak or the flame went out quickly. Use strong coffee and let the flame burn for up to a minute.

It tastes burnt or bitter

The sugar scorched or it flamed too long. Burn for no more than a minute and stir constantly.

Storage

Serve immediately. Leftovers lose their aroma quickly; refrigerate for up to 1 day and reheat gently without flaming again.

Safety notes

Flaming alcohol can cause burns and fires; keep a lid nearby, never flame under cabinets, and keep children and pets away. The batch contains about 150 ml of 40% ABV spirits, roughly 3.4 U.S. standard drinks before flaming, so each serving is under 1. Brewed coffee has caffeine. Adults of legal drinking age only; do not drink and drive.