Choc Mint Espresso Martini
Hello hello! It’s Friday Afternoon Cocktail time!!
Have you ever tried making a cocktail using aquafaba before?? I hadn’t - until today - and now I have to say I’m pretty BLOODY excited about it! (also thanks to my Instagram friend Alex for the genius tip!)
For anyone who doesn’t know what Aquafaba is, it’s the liquid that comes in tinned chickpeas and other canned legumes. It’s kinda slimy, maybe a little bubbly, definitely not the kind of substance you’d look at and immediately think ‘cocktail time’. It is, however, a genius ingredient that often acts a lot like egg whites. You can use it to make meringues, or - as I did with this cocktail - to add a thick, creamy, frothy deliciousness that makes the cocktail taste like it’s got whipped cream stirred through it (side note: I just realised you should absolutely serve this cocktail with whipped cream on top!!). The added benefit of using aquafaba for your cocktails is that you run ZERO risk of winding up with something that’s 99% tasty but with that lurking, almost-metallic 1% eggy-flavour around the edges. Eggy-free cocktail deliciousness.
My other favourite discovery with this cocktail is the chocolate-Kahlúa sauce I made on a whim and drizzled on top right at the end. I was determined to get chocolate in there somehow, but didn’t know how to turn the solid squares hiding on my pantry shelf into a cocktail-ready ingredient. Turns out heat and Kahlúa are the solution! And now the ‘solution’ is this oozing, delicious, syrupy chocolate mix AND you should make way more than this recipe calls for and dip strawberries in it and drizzle it over salted caramel cheesecake and drip-drop it on top of over-large scoops of vanilla ice-cream and swirl it around with molten marshmallows in a giant bowl and then stuff them inside biscuits for extra decadent s’mores and ahhh…
So. Just a few vague suggestions, y’know. Anyway, first make this cocktail.
This week, your song pairing has caused a slight discord in our household. APPARENTLY I’ve now played Baker Street more times than is acceptable for one human being. I have played it loudly, sometimes drunkenly, and often accompanied either by my own attempts to sing the saxophone solo in falsetto, or by actually getting out my saxophone and trying to play the entire song along with the band…which has been, I admit, relatively unsuccessful. So, Luke has banned me. It’s embargoed. Today, for you, I contravene the house rules. Your song pairing is Baker Street because it is joyful and makes me think of cheesy swanky 90s bars and ALSO because the feeling you get when you down a shot of coffee mixed with Kahlua real fast is pretty much captured entirely by the trilling saxophone as it peaks to a glorious shrill crescendo.
So, you know, if you’re light in your head and dead on your feet, well, another crazy day, you'll drink the night away and forget about everything. Only don’t do that. Drink responsibly. Drink a choc mint espresso martini!
Choc Mint Espresso Martini
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients
1 shot vodka
1 shot aquafaba
1 shot espresso
1 shot Kahlúa
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
2 Tbsp coconut milk
A couple of coffee beans (as a garnish)
A small handful of fresh mint leaves
For the chocolate drizzle
A few squares of a good quality dark or milk chocolate (plus a little extra as a garnish)
1/2 tsp Kahlúa
Method
Make sure all your liquid ingredients are chilled before you start.
Place a few ice cubes in your cocktail serving glass to cool it (or pre-freeze the glass so it’s nice and chilled!)
Blend the vodka, aquafaba, espresso, Kahlúa, vanilla essence and coconut milk using a handheld blender until it turns light and frothy.
Melt the chocolate squares in the microwave in 10 second increments, stirring regularly (make sure not to over-cook or the chocolate will go weird and crumble). You want it just-melted and nice and smooth. Combine about 1 tsp molten chocolate with 1/2 tsp of Kahlúa and mix until a runny sauce forms.
Remove the ice from your chilled cocktail glass and pour the cocktail in. Drizzle your Kahlúa-Choc sauce on top, finely grate a little extra chocolate on top of that, throw on some coffee beans for added flair and finish with a sprig of mint! Voila!
