Marocchino Coffee Recipe

Before you start

The marocchino is a small northern Italian café drink: a glass dusted inside with cocoa, a shot of espresso, a cap of thick milk foam and more cocoa on top. Some bars spread a thin layer of chocolate or chocolate-hazelnut spread in the glass first. It sits somewhere between a macchiato and a mocha, less milky than a cappuccino and far less sweet than a café mocha.

The balance comes from proportions and texture. Use only a little milk, mostly foam, so the espresso stays in front. The foam should be thick and dense enough to sit on the coffee, unlike the glossy microfoam used for a flat white. And keep the cocoa unsweetened: it brings bitterness and aroma, while the slight sweetness comes from the milk or the optional chocolate layer.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder — divided, for the glass and the top
• 1 tsp dark chocolate or chocolate-hazelnut spread — optional, for the base
• 30 ml (1 oz) espresso — one shot
• 80 ml (2¾ oz) cold whole milk — you will use mostly the foam

Method

1. Warm the glass. If using chocolate spread, smear a thin layer around the bottom and lower sides with the back of a teaspoon.
2. Dust about half the cocoa inside the glass and tilt it so the powder clings to the base and walls.
3. Pull a single shot of espresso, about 30 ml, directly into the glass.
4. Steam the milk with a longer stretch than usual, 4 to 5 seconds with the wand tip at the surface, to build thick foam. Stop at about 60°C (140°F). With a handheld frother, heat the milk first, then froth until it roughly doubles.
5. Hold back the liquid milk with a spoon and spoon about 2 to 3 cm of foam onto the espresso. Add just a splash of the hot milk if the glass looks too full of foam.
6. Dust the remaining cocoa over the foam through a fine sieve and serve right away.

Tips for success

• Use a clear glass. Seeing the cocoa, coffee and foam layers is part of the drink.
• Shake the cocoa through a sieve. Clumps sit on the foam as bitter lumps instead of a fine dusting.
• Warm chocolate spread gently or leave it at room temperature so it smears easily and melts into the espresso.

Substitutions

Cocoa powder

Dutch-process cocoa is darker and milder; natural cocoa is sharper. Finely grated dark chocolate works on top in place of the final dusting.

Whole milk

Barista oat milk builds thick, stable foam and suits the chocolate well. Skim milk makes stiff but dry foam with little flavor.

Chocolate spread

A teaspoon of chocolate syrup gives a similar sweet base that dissolves faster in the espresso.

Variations

Iced marocchino

Pour the espresso over the cocoa and chocolate, stir, add ice, and top with cold frothed milk and cocoa.

Hazelnut marocchino

Use chocolate-hazelnut spread as the base and add a few chopped toasted hazelnuts over the cocoa.

Troubleshooting

The foam sinks into the coffee

The milk did not get enough air. Stretch longer at the surface, and let the pitcher rest 20 seconds so the foam firms before spooning.

The drink tastes chalky

Too much cocoa, or it went on in clumps. Sift it and keep it to about a teaspoon in total.

It is too milky and mild

Use mostly foam and little liquid milk, and keep the glass small so the espresso leads.

Storage

Make it to order; the foam and layers last only a few minutes. Return unused milk to the fridge promptly, and do not re-steam leftover milk.

Safety notes

Chocolate-hazelnut spread contains tree nuts and often milk, and the drink contains dairy. Check labels if you are serving someone with food allergies.