Summer is here, and we have had a very HOT and humid weather. A glass of coffee granita, is not a bad idea to refresh ourselves, so let's enjoy the recipe that my guest today will share with us.
It is my pleasure to introduce to Marnely Rodriguez, author of the blog, Cooking with Books. A graduate of PUCMM (Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra) and the
Culinary Institute of America, she has worked as an overnight bread baker in Colorado, a chocolate maker in Virginia as well as a pastry cook in Martha’s Vineyard, just to name a few. She currently resides in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic where she is on an endless search for Caribbean flavors, tropical fruits and gastronomic inspiration.
Hello! It's so lovely to be guest posting over here at Mari's Cakes. I'm Nelly, over from Cooking with Books, and am definitely honored to have Mari ask me to be a guest poster on her site, which I've loved ever since discovering. Even better is that fact that we are on the island Caribbean island!
Today, I'll be sharing a gorgeously easily recipe with one of my favorite Caribbean ingredients: Coffee. But first, a few facts as well as a little coffee culture. The Dominican Republic is a well-known coffee grower and exporter, mainly exporting coffee beans to the United States, although some companies do ship their beans overseas to Europe and other continents. Not only are we a coffee producing island, but if you know a Dominican, you know we are big coffee drinkers as well!
Coffee is typically served with breakfast with a side of buttered toast to dip in the coffee; breakfasts range from fresh fruit, a sandwich or eggs with mashed plantains. After the morning brew, if you work in a family business or company that loves their coffee, you will be offered a cup as well. Lunch comes around and the after lunch "cafecito" is in order. Last but not least, some Dominicans love sipping on warm "cafe con leche" before going to bed.
Now that Summer has hit us and the temperatures are in the high 90's, constant coffee drinking has reduced, some resorting to Ice Coffees, but I can't still bring myself to do so. I've lately been on a granita kick, making this Passion Fruit Granita almost every other day, so I wondered: why not make it with rich, deep coffee? You'll still get the jolt of energy, but in a more refreshing way! You can sweeten your granita with your favorite sweetener: brown sugar, honey, diet sugars or even maple syrup. I'd recommend a simple syrup of brown sugar so the sweetness is subtle but still permeates throughout the mixture.
What is a Granita? A liquid, most of the times a fruit juice or puree, sweeten if preferred and then placed in a shallow pan in the freezer. Every 15-30 minutes with a fork, it is scraped and the formed ice crystals will re-incorporate with the rest of the liquid until it all becomes frozen and can be scooped into serving cups.
Coffee Granita
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 cup brewed coffee
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons simple syrup (or your preferred sweetener)
Method
Culinary Institute of America, she has worked as an overnight bread baker in Colorado, a chocolate maker in Virginia as well as a pastry cook in Martha’s Vineyard, just to name a few. She currently resides in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic where she is on an endless search for Caribbean flavors, tropical fruits and gastronomic inspiration.
Today, I'll be sharing a gorgeously easily recipe with one of my favorite Caribbean ingredients: Coffee. But first, a few facts as well as a little coffee culture. The Dominican Republic is a well-known coffee grower and exporter, mainly exporting coffee beans to the United States, although some companies do ship their beans overseas to Europe and other continents. Not only are we a coffee producing island, but if you know a Dominican, you know we are big coffee drinkers as well!
Coffee is typically served with breakfast with a side of buttered toast to dip in the coffee; breakfasts range from fresh fruit, a sandwich or eggs with mashed plantains. After the morning brew, if you work in a family business or company that loves their coffee, you will be offered a cup as well. Lunch comes around and the after lunch "cafecito" is in order. Last but not least, some Dominicans love sipping on warm "cafe con leche" before going to bed.
Now that Summer has hit us and the temperatures are in the high 90's, constant coffee drinking has reduced, some resorting to Ice Coffees, but I can't still bring myself to do so. I've lately been on a granita kick, making this Passion Fruit Granita almost every other day, so I wondered: why not make it with rich, deep coffee? You'll still get the jolt of energy, but in a more refreshing way! You can sweeten your granita with your favorite sweetener: brown sugar, honey, diet sugars or even maple syrup. I'd recommend a simple syrup of brown sugar so the sweetness is subtle but still permeates throughout the mixture.
What is a Granita? A liquid, most of the times a fruit juice or puree, sweeten if preferred and then placed in a shallow pan in the freezer. Every 15-30 minutes with a fork, it is scraped and the formed ice crystals will re-incorporate with the rest of the liquid until it all becomes frozen and can be scooped into serving cups.
Coffee Granita
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 cup brewed coffee
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons simple syrup (or your preferred sweetener)
Method
- Brew coffee as usual and mix with milk and sweetener.
- Place in small shallow pan and reserve in freezer. Every 15 minutes scrape ice crystals with fork. Do this until the entire liquid has frozen into small crystals.
- Serve in small glasses as a light dessert served with fresh berries or drizzled with dulce de leche.
Nothing will change in your life if you don't do something different from what you have been doing. - E. Perry Good, In Pursuit of Happiness
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