Add a Jolt to Dessert

Everyone knows that coffee is magical. If all it did for us every day was to help us stay awake after all of those I-stayed-up-till-midnight-and-still-didn’t-get-it-all-done sleepless nights, we would still owe coffee a lot. But coffee is so magical that it can do even more than just get me through a drowsy day. Coffee can add flavor and fuel to my food — and it can do it in some very interesting ways, too.

We all know that coffee goes great with dessert. So, it shouldn’t come as a great surprise that coffee goes great in dessert, too. There are some desserts, like tiramisu, that have always been made with coffee. Tiramisu, which literally means “pick me up” in Italian, is a terrific pick-me-up that is one of the most creamy and delicious desserts you can serve. An interesting variation on that spooned-up deliciousness is this dark-roast coffee gelée, if you want to try something new.

If you want to skip the spoon and the bowl, brownies are always a great picnic or potluck dessert. I’ll never turn down a good brownie, but my favorites are these Jamaican coffee brownies with pecans, these mocha brownies or these peanut butter espresso brownies. Espresso truffles also are a fantastic, slightly more sophisticated dessert to serve if you don’t want to wash extra plates and forks (because who needs that?).