Why not spice up your latte to make it a Great Pumpkin Café Mocha!
Weather the cool breezes with a cozy cup of Café Mocha this Fall. And, if you dream of pumpkin spices, why not combine them into one drink? This spicy Great Pumpkin Café Mocha pairs deliciously with my homemade Pumpkin Biscotti Cookies and Great Pumpkin Bundt Cake.
If you don't like the store bought Pumpkin latte, try my homemade version. You control the amount of spices, sugars, and pumpkin flavors. As a former pumpkin flavor hater, I discovered that I love the homemade pumpkin coffees much better than the store bought versions. They tend to be too bitter and have too much clove flavors in them for my taste. (Cloves remind me of going to the dentist as a kid - ugh!) So, no cloves for me!
Start with brewing your own coffee. I start with vanilla crème brulee decaffeinated coffee grounds to press my coffee. I like the coffee press because it only takes 4 minutes from start to finish. So what if it's old school - no apps to take up space on my iPhone, nothing to plug in. I control how much coffee to water goes in. I microwave the water I need, add the coffee grounds and let it sit for a couple minutes. Then, press the lever down and it's done!
With this recipe you control the coffee strength and the sugars. My base coffee has no sugars.
Great Pumpkin Café Mocha Ingredients:
1 C Coffee, hot
1/2 C Milk, your choice of fatty or skinny
1-2 T Chocolate syrup
1 Dollop Whipping Cream (optional)
1 Dollop Chocolate Pudding (optional)
Pumpkin spice sprinkles (pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, allspice - you choose)
Great Pumpkin Bundt cake crumbles (optional)
Make your Great Pumpkin Mocha
- Make your coffee according to your favorite process - automatic coffee maker, single cup coffee maker, stove top coffee percolator, coffee press, etc.
- Heat the milk and whisk it a bit to create a little froth. The more froth you like, the more you whisk. (Use a hand whisk or an electric whisk.) If you like more milk, go for it. I use 2% milk. Add it to your hot coffee.
- Squirt in a tablespoon or so of chocolate syrup - you know, your favorite kind that you like to cover your ice cream with late at night. Stir well. (I tried mint chocolate once - don't do it.)
- Reheat the mixture in case the syrup cooled it off too much.
- Swirl the chocolate pudding and whipped cream together so they stay somewhat separate. (I like to make my own pudding and my own whipped cream ahead of time - so delish!) Dollop the combo on top.
- Drop some of the Great Pumpkin Bundt cake crumblies on top of your dollop.
- Sprinkle a couple pinches of pumpkin spices on top of all and enjoy!
There you have it, a delicious Great Pumpkin Café Mocha to enjoy while reading a book, snuggling with your puppy dog or kitty cat, or unwinding after work or just before bed. Or, why not enjoy it with a couple of my homemade Pumpkin Biscotti Cookies. It's an easy and relaxing way to get cozy during the upcoming cool days and nights.