If you think enjoying a heaping forkful of moist red velvet cake topped with rich cream cheese frosting is one of life’s simplest pleasures (And why wouldn’t you? The stuff is delicious.), this recipe is for you.
Meet the red velvet latte, a drink that puts the sweet, rich flavor of the decadent dessert right into your coffee cup.
WHAT IS IN A RED VELVET LATTE?
As you probably know already, especially if you like to sneak a bite of the cake as often as possible, red velvet cake is traditionally a red-colored chocolate cake. Most of the recipes you’ll see today rely on food coloring to give the dessert its signature hue, but in the old days, bakers used beet juice for coloring the crimson cake.
No worries, you won’t see a tablespoon of organic beet juice on the ingredient list for this red velvet coffee drink. All you’ll need is chocolate, red food dye, a touch of vanilla, a bit of milk, and of course, espresso! Sound good? Then, read on to find out how to make this creamy latte at home!
RED VELVET LATTE HOW-TO: MAKE THIS AMAZING COFFEE DRINK AT HOME
YOU’LL NEED:
- 2 espresso shots
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla syrup
- Whipped cream
- Saucepan
THE PROCESS:
STEP 1: Start this at-home brewing project by pouring vanilla syrup and your milk of choice, perhaps choosing from whole milk, oat milk, or some sort of nut milk, into a saucepan and letting the mixture stay on a burner until it’s heated. Be sure to stir it occasionally with a spoon or spatula to keep the warm milk from burning.
STEP 2: Once the milk and vanilla syrup combo is warm, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the chocolate chips, stirring them until they’ve melted into the liquid. You’ll know the chocolate’s melted fully when the mixture has a silky texture.
STEP 3: Add the red food coloring into the smooth, chocolatey milk mixture, and stir until the ingredients are well-combined.
STEP 4: Now comes our favorite part — brewing the joe! Using your trusty espresso machine, brew two shots of the rich, strong coffee.
STEP 5: Pour the espresso then the smooth chocolate mixture into a tall glass or mug. You can stop here and serve it as is, but adding a dollop of fluffy whipped cream (or a whipped non-dairy topping) makes this sweet drink even more special. And there you have it, a creamy and delicious red velvet latte!
ENJOY!
There’s no need to wait in long coffee shop lines or hand over all your hard-earned cash just to enjoy a fancy coffee drink. You can make your own lattes at home, and this chocolate coffee drink is a great place to start. All you need is a quality espresso or coffee maker, a few ingredients, and a few favorite recipes, and before long, you’ll be brewing like a pro…and saving yourself a few bucks, too!
And while you’re trying new and delicious recipes, try your hand at creating latte art, too, and make your cup of coffee look as good as it tastes.