When I worked at a coffee shop, one of my favorite drinks was coffee with steamed milk – a café au lait. I typically made it with whatever steamed milk was leftover from making a latte or cappuccino, and brewed coffee. Because I wasn’t planning on buying a $10,000 espresso maker with a steam wand any time soon, I knew that if I wanted to make one at home I had to come up with another option. Luckily, you can “steam” milk with a blender and a microwave. I make mine with a the large magic bullet cup, but you need something that is microwave safe and that is about twice the volume of the milk. You could always transfer the milk over to a microwave safe container after you blend it. Good foam can be held upside down with a spoon, so while it is not coffee-shop foam, it is pretty darn good.
Cafe Au Lait
Ingredients:
- strongly brewed coffee
- 1/2 cup milk
- sugar, flavoring, etc
Directions:
- Pour the milk into your blender cup. Blend for about 10 seconds or until the milk has approximately doubled in volume.
- Remove the blade or transfer the milk into a microwave safe container
- Place container on a paper towel to catch any drips, and microwave on high for 30 seconds
- Let sit for 15 seconds and microwave for another 30 seconds or until heated through.
- Fill a mug about 3/4 of the way full with coffee. Add any sugar, flavoring, etc.
- Top with milk and use a spoon to scoop out some foam.