Somehow, I found a way to grumble a wee bit while making this. Office holiday gift exchange pressure!!! The rest of my mood was all smirky, caffeinated anticipation, with the buzz of Victrola beans from my Seattle adventure, clear grain alcohol, rich vanilla paste and a little fresh clementine zest, for good measure. I had sampled my friend Millie the mixtress’ homemade kahlua at a holiday cocktail party a couple of weeks ago, and it was totally a I have-to-make-this moment.
The internet seemed abundant with two varieties of recipes. One involved patient infusing (which is fine, because please), and the other was a matter of warming & mixing. Millie’s successful concoction followed the second route, and so did I, using the recipe posted last year on the Cupcake Project as a basis.
DIY Vanilla Kahlua
Ingredients:
- 9 cups of strong brewed coffee (I used my french press)
- 3/4 liter single grain alcohol
- 1.5 lbs vegan brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons of vanilla paste
- 1 teaspoon of freshly grated orange zest (I used clementine)
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Optional:
- cocoa powder or melting chocolate, to taste > I did this with a small part of the batch.
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
Directions:
- Whisk the brown sugar into the coffee in a very large sauce pan. Bring to a boil.
- Lower heat and whisk in the remainder of the ingredients.
- Let sit and cover if desired, for 15-20 minutes.
- Whisk a couple more times for good measure, and using a funnel, distribute into bottles or jars with tight lids.
- Enjoy!
Serving suggestions:
- Coconut White Russians with vodka, kahlua, ice and So Delicious Coconut Creamer.
- Black Russians: straight up vodka and kahlua over ice.
- Equal parts kahlua & vegan bailey’s irish cream, served over ice.
- Mocha Float with vegan ice cream.
P.S. So. I drowned my camera over the weekend. Please forgive the smartphone pick, hence the decor.
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I have never even considered DIY Kahlua as a possibility. But look at you making it happen! So awesome.
What are you going to do with it? Beside drink it, of course. Mix it with anything special?
hey jill! I’m really looking forward to making a pitcher of nutmeg, kahlua & coconut milk at a holiday party next week : )
I made that Bailey’s Irish Cream recipe, and it was soooo good! I can’t wait to make your kahlua and treat myself to a coconut white Russian, too! Dang, that So Delicious coconut milk creamer is making my vegan life so much more delicious!
such true words!!
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You are brilliant… wow!!!
This sounds great, but what’s vanilla paste? If I can’t find it, can I use the goopy black resin-looking stuff that’s inside vanilla beans?
…And now I just realized that maybe that black stuff IS vanilla paste. Is that the case?
hey adam – the only recipes I’m quickly seeing online for vanilla paste call for vanilla beans and corn syrup (eh) http://www.mixingbowl.com/content/NonniezCorner/recipe/10032928/Vanilla-Paste—how-to-make-it
I had a jar of vanilla paste, like so: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/VanillaPaste.htm
however, you could definitely sub vanilla extract, 1 for 1. I used the paste because it offers an extra rich sweetness, but this recipe is sweet besides that. enjoy!
we just ran out to get supplies–today’s the day.
rather than adding cocoa to it, we’ll be using tom’s patented cofee-n-cacao blend.
Made this for the family Christmas get-together and it was a huge hit! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear it!