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Café cubano
Sweet Cuban espresso with a sugar foam (espumita)
Café cubano, or cafecito, is the tiny, intensely sweet coffee poured into thimble-sized cups at every ventanita (walk-up window) in Miami and in homes across Cuba, often shared around the office at 3 o'clock. The secret is the espumita: the first few drops of coffee beaten hard with sugar into a pale caramel-coloured cream that floats on top. You need a stovetop moka pot. Chef's tip: catch only the very first, strongest drops for the foam; if you add too much coffee the sugar won't whip up.
- Total time
- 7 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Fill the moka pot base with ¾ cup water to just below the valve, fill the basket with ⅔ oz dark-roast espresso coffee, level it without pressing and screw the pot together.
Step 2: Set over a medium heat. Put 4 tbsp white sugar in a small jug or cup.
2 minStep 3: As soon as the first dark drops of coffee appear, pour about 2 teaspoons onto the sugar and put the pot back on the heat.
1 minStep 4: Beat the sugar and coffee hard with a teaspoon, scraping the sides, until it becomes a thick, pale tan paste, like peanut butter, about 1 minute.
1 minStep 5: When the pot has finished bubbling, slowly pour the rest of the coffee into the paste, stirring gently. The espumita will rise to the top as a creamy layer. Pour into small cups and drink straight away. The common mistake is taking the pot off too late: once it sputters loudly, the last coffee tastes burnt.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 50 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 13 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does café cubano take?
- About 7 minutes in total: 2 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of white sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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