The original drink was invented on a stormy night in 1943 when a Pan Am flight headed from Ireland to New York was forced to turn back in bad weather. Upon return to Shannon airport, the cook warmed up passengers with whiskey-spiked coffee topped with cream. Cocoa has many notable affinities, and it blends particularly well with coffee in this riff on the classic after-dinner libation. Sipping spiked hot mocha through the cool, lightly-whipped cream is a remarkable sensation. The complementary flavors combine in a drink that doubles as dessert.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon milk, hot
- 4 cups freshly-brewed coffee, hot
- 2 ounces Cointreau
- 4 ounces Bailey’s Original Irish Cream
- Wet cream
How to Make It
- Combine cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Add the hot milk into the cocoa mix, and stir into a smooth paste with a wooden spoon. Gradually add the hot coffee and continue stirring until fully incorporated. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, add the Cointreau and Bailey’s, then froth with an immersion blender. Divide into four pre-warmed cups or Irish Coffee glasses, and top each with a collar of the wet cream by pouring gently over the back of a spoon.
- Wet cream is made in the same manner as whipped cream, but whipping stops before the cream becomes stiff. The aeration allows the cream to sit neatly on top of the hot drink.