I pretty much consider coffee to be one of life’s greatest simple pleasures, and over the past year, that’s evolved from a love of coffee in general to a love of lattes in particular.
My husband surprised me with an inexpensive latte maker last year, and while it makes a tasty espresso, the milk steamer/frother is just meh. (And I actually just replaced the latte maker, but more on that another day!)
For a while I tried just adding cold milk to my espresso, but lukewarm lattes aren’t quite as tasty as their hot counterparts, and I began looking into alternatives for steaming and frothing my milk.
However, the reviews on pretty much every device out there are iffy, and I just couldn’t bring myself to add one more kitchen gadget to my cabinets, so I started heating my milk in a saucepan.
I then realized I didn’t even have to sacrifice my froth. It turns out that you can get milk pretty frothy with a good ol’ fashioned whisk, and while it may not be perfect coffee house froth, it’s definitely good enough to serve at home.
Every afternoon I sit and sip one of these cinnamon lattes…with extra foam, please!
Cinnamon Latte
Ingredients:
- 8 oz. coffee or espresso
- 6 oz. milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- sugar or stevia to taste
Directions:
Add cinnamon stick and sweetener to your favorite mug. Brew your coffee or espresso and immediately pour into the mug.
In a small saucepan, heat milk over medium low until steaming. Whisk briskly and then pour over coffee.
Optional: If you prefer, heat your milk in the microwave instead of the stovetop.
Enjoy!
Join us over the next few months for even more quick tips from a minimalist kitchen!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
This is genius. I will be doing this TODAY and ongoing!
I love the “Paris” skin on your e-reader. Where did you get it?!
Thanks, Judi! It’s a DecalGirl skin from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/DecalGirl-Decorative-Decal-Kindle-Paperwhite/dp/B009GU8LX8/ref=sr_1_52?s=fiona-hardware&ie=UTF8&qid=1353956070&sr=1-52
If you have an empty jelly jar, you can put a small amount of milk in it…put lid on and shake vigorously for about 15 seconds. Remove the lid and microwave the milk for 30-45 seconds, watch it closely or it will boil over…and voila, frothed milk. Low fat milk seems to make better froth, too.
Ooh, good tip! We don’t actually have a microwave, but I’d be all over this if we did.
Interesting about the low fat milk too. I wonder if that’s true on the stovetop as well? We use whole milk, but I’m tempted to buy some lowfat just to experiment, LOL!
I love mochas, so that’s what I do! I put the chocolate mix (pretty much hot chocolate) in with the milk and heat it up in the microwave while the coffee is brewing. Easy peasy, plus, all the extra milk (and protein) help to stave off the jitters I can get sometimes. It’s awesome!
despite the inspiring tips, I like the color and the composition of this blog.