Café Brûlot
Galatoire’s Restaurant - New Orleans
This flaming, boozy coffee, complete with a theatrical presentation, is a New Orleans classic. Chef Brain Landry of the legendary Galatoire’s restaurant says, “Our staff members masterfully swirl and twirl tendrils of this fragrant, flaming liquid as they prepare the dish at tableside.”
Ingredients
- 2 oranges
- 1 lemon
- 12 cloves
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 2 ounces brandy
- 2 ounces orange liqueur (such as Cointreau)
- 6 cups of brewed French roast coffee, kept hot
Method
Carefully use a vegetable peeler to carve the peel from one orange in a continuous coil. Stud the orange peel with the cloves. Thread one end of the coil through the tines of a fork and set aside.
Peel the lemon and cut the peel into 1/4-inch twists. Repeat with the other orange. In a small saucepot over low heat, combine the lemon and orange peels, cinnamon sticks, brandy, and orange liqueur. Heat the ingredients for 3 to 5 minutes. When the mixture is warm, pour it into a brûlot bowl or a stainless steel bowl with a flat bottom. Scoop up some of the mixture in a ladle. Light a match and hold it to the ladle, igniting the liqueur. Using your other hand, carefully pick up the fork holding the clove-studded orange peel coil and hold it over the bowl. Slowly lower the ignited ladle and pour the flaming liqueur over the orange coil. The flame will spiral down the coil and ignite the contents of the bowl. Set aside the fork. Slowly pour in the coffee while stirring with the ladle to extinguish the flame. Ladle small amounts of the aromatic coffee–liqueur mixture into demitasse cups.
Yield
6 servings
