Flourless chocolate & almonds cake

For ➏-➑
115 g bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
6 tbs (85 g) butter
85 g sugar
85 g powdered almond, (ground almonds or almond meal)
1 tbs brewed espresso
1 tbs rum
3 eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 145°C. Line the bottom of a spring form cake pan or a tart pan with a removable base, with parchment paper and butter the sides.
Put the chocolate and the butter in a bowl and melt over barely simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar, almond powder, rum and coffee until smooth. When the mixture has cooled, mix in the egg yolks, one by one.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks then fold them into the chocolate batter. Pour into the prepared mold and place in the oven for 45 m.
Allow to cool in the cake pan before unmolding. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar before serving.

Cold brewed coffee

For ➎-➓ cups of coffee cups or glasses
12 tbs lightly roasted espresso coffee, ground coarsely* **
0.9 l water**

Put the coffee in your container, French press preferred.
For a French press, pour the coffee into the bottom of the canister. Gradually add the water. Stir gently, making sure all the coffee grounds are moistened.
Let stand at room temperature for at least 12 h. Don’t rush this. The long steep time is important for proper extraction.
For the French press, simply press down on the plunger to move grounds to the bottom.
Pour.
Coffee extract should be diluted with each serving. From a 50-50 concentration of water to 70-30 ratio. Be aware that some flavors are lost if you drink the extract straight.
The concentrate will keep for up to 2 weeks covered and chilled in the fridge. Add ice, milk, or your other favorite coffee things and enjoy.

*A smaller grind will result in cloudy coffee.
**Or 450 g coffee to 2.25 l water.

No-churn coffee ice cream

For ➓ dl
30 cl heavy or double cream, well-chilled*
175 g sweetened condensed milk
2 tbs instant espresso powder
2 tbs espresso liqueur

Whisk all the ingredients together just until the whisk leaves trails of soft peaks in the bowl, and you have a gorgeous, caffe-latte-colored airy mixture. Fill two 50 cl airtight containers, and freeze for 6 hs or overnight. Serve straight from the freezer.
Serve with a chocolate sauce or with little brioches.

*Or use mascarpone.
**Variations:
-vanilla flavour: 1 ts vanilla extract
-ginger flavour: 100 g stem ginger, chopped, plus 4 tbs syrup from the jar
-coffee & brandy flavour: 2-3 tbs coffee essence, 2 tbs brandy
-raspberry flavour: 15 cl sieved raspberry purée (you could also use strawberry)
-rum & raisin flavour: 100 g raisins soaked in 4 tbs rum for 2 h

Caffè shakerato

For ➊ glass
6-8 ice cubes
1-2 ts simple syrup**, or to taste
1 dash liqueur, such as rum, sambuca, or Amaretto (optional)
2 shots freshly made, hot espresso

In a cocktail shaker*, add the ice cubes, simple syrup, liqueur**** (if using), then finally the freshly made espresso. Put the lid on and shake vigorously for 10 to 15 s. The shaker should become ice cold and the mixture should become a light caramel-colored froth. 
Strain the liquid into a chilled martini glass, ensuring no ice cubes end up in the drink.
If desired, garnish with a coffee bean or a dusting of cocoa powder—or go for it and top with whipped cream.

*If you don't have a cocktail shaker, improvise with a jar with a screw top lid. You can also make this in a blender and you'll end up with a super frothy cocktail-like drink that will feel like you're drinking a caffeinated cloud.
**Boil one part sugar with one part water in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Store in a jar in the refrigerator for a week.
***Spice things up by spiking the coffee with a dash of something alcoholic. Try rum, sambuca, or amaretto. Or add some vanilla extract or a twist of lemon zest for something different.
Add it to the shaker before the hot coffee, which must always come last.

El pagnon boregne (Borinage sugar cake)

For ➑
300 g flour
100 g butter
30 g of fresh yeast
2 eggs
pinch of salt
2 tbs granulated sugar
150 g blonde caster sugar
black coffee

Crumble the yeast in 20 cl warm water and stir vigorously. Melt the butter in the microwave.
Whisk the eggs.
Put the flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour it in the melted butter, beaten egg, granulated sugar and the dissolved yeast. Mix together with a whisk into a homogeneous dough. Add salt and mix again.
Form a ball of dough and let rise for 1.5 h in a warm place.
Preheat the oven to 180 ° C.
Brush the tin with butter and pour the dough in it. Let it rise for 30 m.
Make holes in the dough with your fingers, without touching the bottom. Spread the caster sugar over the dough, avoiding the edge.
Sprinkle with coffee, spread some in the holes as well.. Put in preheated oven and bake for 35 m.
Serve warm or cooled, with black coffee.

In the North of France and in the Belgian region of the Borinage, tartes au sucre (sugar cakes) are very popular as a simple and inexpensive dessert. In the Borinage and Mons this pagnon (argot for 'compagnon', French for 'company', is a traditional treat.
It is made with cassonade, a blonde or brown rough sugar, that is used in several Belgian desserts and cookies, such as speculaas and spread over pancakes, bread, strawberries... The best known is the Graeffe brand, founded in Brussels in 1848.

Torta alle nocciole (Piedmontese hazelnut cake)

For ➑
200 g shelled hazelnuts, toasted*
150 g flour
3 eggs
200 g sugar
125 g butter
8.5 tbs strong coffee (12.5 cl)
8.5 tbs whole milk (12.5 cl)
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs rum or Marsala (optional)
1½ tbs baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Pulverise the toasted hazelnuts until very fine. Combine with the flour and baking powder.
In a food processor or with beaters, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one by one until well combined. Incorporate with the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the milk, coffee, olive oil and rum and mix until just combined.
Pour into a greased and floured  26 cm cake tin with a removable bottom.**
Bake for about 35 m or until golden brown and springy.
Allow to cool and serve as desired.
Serve with a simple drizzle of honey, a ganache of melted chocolate*** and cream or a simple espresso icing. Or dust with powder sugar.

*To toast hazelnuts, put them in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 180°C oven for about 10-15 m or until lightly browned and the skins look cracked. Watch them carefully as hazelnuts can turn bitter if toasted too long. Remove from the oven and wrap the hazelnuts in a kitchen towel to let steam for a couple of m. Then rub them together to loosen and remove as much of the skin as possible. Cool completely.
**The cake should be 2-2.5 cm thick. A good way is to wrap the mixture in oven aluminum foil completely, then gently press it with your hands into the mold to make it into a nice even round shape.
***To cover the cake in chocolate glaze: gently heat 15 cl heavy cream just to the boiling point and pour over finely chopped 150 g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (or a combination of the two). Stir slowly until combined. Pour evenly over cake.

Café-calva

For ➊
1 small hot coffee ('petit café')
2 tbs + ½ ts Calvados

Pour the coffee into a serving mug.

Pour 2 tbs of Calvados into a small shot glass.

Sprinkle the remaining ½ ts of Calvados over the hot coffee.

This traditional French pousse-café is quickly sliding into oblivion. The related cafe normande is a much more elaborated concoction with brown sugar and cream.

Strozzapreti al sugo di carne (Italian meat sauce for filled pasta)

For ➏
6 tbs butter
2.5 kg chuck roast, cut into 3 cm cubes
3 onions, halved & thinly sliced
75 cl bottle Chianti or other fruity red wine
750 g can peeled tomatoes with juice
1 cup brewed espresso
500 g strozzapreti* or other twisted pasta

Preheat oven to 200°C. Melt 1 tbs butter in large ovenproof pot over medium high heat. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Working in batches, cook beef until browned, about 4 m per batch.
Transfer beef to large bowl. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 5 tbs butter to pot and melt. Add onions and cook until soft, stirring frequently, about 5 m. Return beef and any accumulated juices to pot. Add wine, tomatoes with juice, and espresso. Bring to boil, cover, and transfer to oven.
Braise beef until tender, about 2 h. Using 2 forks, break beef apart into more manageable chunks. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta.
Stir strozzapreti or other filled pasta into beef mixture and serve.

*'Strozzapreti' means 'strangled priest' or, rather, 'priest choking himself on food'. A similar name, 'strangelopreti' is used in the North for a gnocchi-like food.

Frosty cappucino

For ➋
24 cl low-fatmilk
1 tbs chocolate syrup
1 ts instant espresso coffee powder
2 ice cubes
sugar *
¼ ts ground cinnamon

Use an electrical blender to combine milk, chocolate syrup, espresso powder and ice until the mixture is smooth and frothy. Add sugar to taste.

Pour into 2 chilled glasses. Sprinkle with cinnamon for garnish.

*Optional.

A quick coffee liquor

For ➊
1 small cup of strong coffee.
1 tbs sugar/shaved chocolate
1 tbs vodka

Make a small cup of extremely strong coffee.

Put on heat, mix in 1 tbs of sugar/shaved chocolate.

Stir until sirupy.

Let cool a bit. Off heat, add 1 tbs of vodka (or brandy/vodka) and mix well.

Use in recipes like the baby eskimo cocktail. Cool before using.

Serpent's chocolate

For ➋
150 g extremely bitter chocolate
4 tbs strong espresso coffee*
½ tbs butter
3 egg yolks, creamed
3 egg whites, beaten

Melt the chocolate slowly with the coffee on top of the stove. Stir and when it forms a cream remove from heat.**
Add the butter and the egg yolks immediately stirring in well.
Cool the chocolate cream.
Fold in the egg whites gently. Refrigerate for 24 h.
Remove about 30 m before serving. Embellish with a dot of slightly sugared whipped cream or a drizzle of amaretto.

*Alternatively, use 1 tbs of brown rum and 3 tbs coffee.
**Slow melting in the microwave can achieve good results. You might need to adjust the liquid.

(Slightly) Mexican, bearing the name of the Serpent God who brought chocolate to the world .

tip: brewing coffee in a French press

For ➋-➍
1 tbs coarsely ground coffee per portion (2 tbs or 10 g coffee beans)
20 cl water per portion

Preheat the beaker by pouring in hot tap water or boiling water, then pouring it out just before you add the ground coffee.

Boil fresh water. Good water makes good coffee. Use spring or filtered water. Boil untill 90°C.

Spoon into the French Press freshly roasted coffee that is between 3-10 days old. Use coarsely ground coffee.

After water has come to a boil, let it sit for 1 m before filling your French press with water.

Give everything a stir with a wooden spoon or chopstick before putting the lid back on.

Replace the lid with the “plunger handle” pulled out and the filter sitting at the top.

Let the coffee brew for about 2-4 m. Aroma works as a good guide to when it is ready. You’ll notice the coffee go from acidic to smelling really good before the acidic smell comes back.

(For a cleaner cup with less sediment, remove the lid just before plunging and gently stir the coffee grounds still floating at the top with the thick end of a chopstick. Then carefully skim off the fine grinds left on the surface.)

With the spout facing away from you, gently push the “plunger” down until it reaches the bottom. By exerting firm, even pressure it should take about 10 to 20 s to filter the coffee.

Serve the coffee immediately or transfer unused coffee into a thermo.

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