Brew Espresso Over Caramel Sauce For A Sweeter At-Home Coffee
While coffee machines and French presses have made home brewing that first cup of coffee a simple and efficient task, we often leave the elaborate espresso drinks to professionals. However, Nespresso machines and moka pots have brought freshly brewed espresso into the home, and there are plenty of hacks to turn anyone into a successful barista. If you're looking for a sweet espresso drink, caramel sauce is the single store-bought ingredient you need to try.
Unlike simple syrup or a sugar cube, caramel sauce has much more depth of flavor, providing notes of burnt sugar to enhance the underlying flavors in the espresso while balancing its bitterness. The heat from the espresso will easily melt the caramel sauce so that it'll disperse evenly with a few quick stirs.
To execute, simply squeeze your desired amount of caramel sauce into an espresso cup, place it under the espresso valve to receive a shot or two, and stir to combine. Some recipes recommend using one tablespoon of caramel sauce per espresso shot, but you can less or more depending on how sweet you want your drink. Salted caramel sauce is an even better option to bring out the caramelized notes of sugar and balance the bitter-sweet profile of the caramel and espresso blend. You can enjoy this sweet treat straight from its small espresso cup like a Cuban coffee, or use it as the foundation for countless hot and cold espresso drinks.
How to build a caramel espresso drink
A powerful shot of caramel-infused espresso will be a powerful and delicious antidote to a mid-afternoon slump, but you can build a more extravagant drink with a few extra ingredients and steps. If you're in the mood for a hot espresso drink, you could simply add hot milk to the caramel espresso blend to make a caramel latte. Sprinkle it with cinnamon or cardamom for a kick of warming spice. If you want to make your latte more complex, you can add a flavored creamer; hazelnut, chocolate, vanilla, and coconut creme would all pair well with caramel and coffee.
If you have a milk frother, you can make a caramel or vanilla foam for an extravagant caramel cappuccino. Flavored foam is easier than you think, involving frothing a splash of milk, half-and-half, and flavored syrup; you can use the same caramel sauce you added to your espresso.
Viral TikTok videos demonstrate how to turn a caramel espresso into a cold drink by preparing various elements separately and blending them all together at the end. For example, after stirring caramel and espresso together, let it cool while you prepare the cold elements over ice in a serving glass. Add a splash of cold milk with a pump of syrup to the ice, pour the espresso over, and finish with a layer of flavored cold foam.