Today's Pinterest Adventure...

So...I followed this link...for a Salted Caramel Mocha. Hehe...umm, yes please. About twice a week, I indulge in coffee craziness...almost always when Philip is here on Thursdays, and often on Wednesdays when I don't keep the baby. I don't know what it is about not having that responsibility and feeling the need to splurge...but the recipe looked fantastic. All except one thing...well, three things...1) I am lactose intolerant. Butter and heavy cream and milk? Yikes. 2) I'm not big on mocha. And 3) I didn't have any heavy cream in the house. Now, if you're going to whip up heavy cream, you can't use a substitute, but...if you just need the heaviness of the cream, you can sometimes get away with it. So, instead of the 1/4 cup of heavy cream in the recipe for the caramel sauce, I used 1/4 c. of almond milk and an extra tablespoon of butter, melted and mixed with the almond milk prior to adding it to the sauce. To say that leaving out the cocoa powder (thus, turning it into a salted caramel...umm...cappuccino??), and substituting almond milk for the frothed milk and heavy cream resulted in the yummiest drink I've had...all month...might be an understatement.


Yum.


So, here are the pictures...and yes, I only made a single serving, where the picture in this person's blog shows what must be a double...I had to make sure it was yummy before I ruined perfectly good espresso. ;)

Espresso. Yes, I already poured it into the mug before I took this picture. The leftover will be consumed sans caramel. :)

Almond milk does indeed froth.

Yep, poured the unfrothed almond milk allllllll over the counter (most of it made it into the mug).

With a little extra caramel drizzled over the froth--I skipped the whipped cream...I usually do.

Here's the recipe... :) Have fun!

Salted Caramel Mocha

• 1 shot of espresso or 3/4 cup coffee
• 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons caramel sauce (see recipe below)
• 1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder (the hot chocolate kind, not the unsweetened baking kind – I used Archer Farms dark chocolate cocoa and loved it)
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• Whipped cream (optional)
• Extra caramel sauce and sea salt to drizzle/sprinkle on top

With an espresso maker:

Prepare espresso. Place caramel sauce, cocoa powder and sea salt in a mug and pour espresso over them. Froth milk and slowly pour into mug, stirring to combine everything. Taste and add more caramel, cocoa and/or salt to taste. Top with whipped cream, drizzle caramel sauce, and a tiny pinch of sea salt.

Without an espresso maker:

Prepare coffee. Place caramel sauce, cocoa powder and sea salt in a mug. Pour coffee into mug, stirring to combine everything. Heat milk in microwave or on the stove and add to mug, stirring everything to combine. Taste and add more caramel, cocoa and/or salt to taste.  Top with whipped cream, caramel sauce and a tiny pinch of sea salt.

Salted Caramel Syrup

Makes enough for around 3-4 salted caramel mocha or hot chocolate beverages

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons salted butter, cubed
• 
1/4 cup heavy cream, at room temperature

In a medium saucepan, cook the sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a spatula (if it becomes lumpy, reduce heat and refrain from stirring). When it turns a deep amber color*, add the butter and stir until it is melted. Add the heavy cream and whisk until the caramel is smooth (be careful, it will bubble up when you add the cream). Remove from heat and let cool. Refrigerate extra syrup.

(Mindy's note...*it can burn at this point--just a warning. burnt caramel isn't quite as yummy as non-burnt. be careful!!)