Ingredients

• 3/4 oz Monin Blackberry syrup
• 1 1/2 oz vodka
• ice
• lemonade

Directions

Fill a tall glass with ice and then pour the syrup and vodka over it. Fill with lemonade, give it a stir and enjoy.

But wait, did you ever think a bag of potato chips could give you the same amount of energy?

Arma Energy Snx and NRG have done the what many may consider to be the unthinkable: Created a crunchy + salty + caffeinated snack with a dash of taurine (an ingredient often found in energy drinks) to boost our mood.

Given that we often associate potato chips with being a couch potato, a high energy version definitely borders on ironic. But Arma claims that each 2-ounce bag comes with about 70 milligrams of caffeine while NRG says that every 3.5-ounce bag is ‘equivalent to 3 and a half cups of coffee, 350 mg of caffeine.’

However, with each bag also comes 290 calories. Compare that to an energy drink that has 80 mg of caffeine and 110 calories and a shot of espresso with only 5 calories and 75 mg of caffeine.

Watch Brandi combine all this rightness into a delicious smoothie and then treat herself to a smoothie + Espresso Chocolate Cake Truffle breakfast.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup powdered milk
• 1 oz Monin Dark Chocolate sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon Monin Vanilla syrup
• 2 cups coffee ice cubes (we used Velton’s Twlight Blend — claro!)

Directions

1. Coffee ice cubes: Brew a pot of your favorite coffee and pour into an ice cube tray, freeze until frozen solid.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend about 30 seconds, or until 4 peaks appear in the blender. Be careful not to over blend.

Ingredients

• 1/2 oz Monin Almond syrup
• 1/2 oz Monin Coconut syrup
• 1 oz Monin White Chocolate sauce
• 14 oz steamed milk

Directions

Combine the syrups and sauces together, mix well. Top with steamed milk and stir to incorporate.

Watch Brandi craft a delicious drink, paired with an even more delicious batch of Kaylie’s (Not Quite) Irish Blondies. Mmmmmmmmmp!

Ingredients

• 1 oz Monin Irish Cream syrup
• 1 oz Irish whiskey of your choice
• 16 oz brewed drip coffee (you know it’s gotta be Velton’s Twilight!)
• Whipped cream

Directions

1. Combine syrup and whiskey together in a large mug.
2. Add drip coffee and give it a stir to incorporate it well.
3. Top with a carefully-placed dollop of freshly whipped cream.
4. Enjoy!

Watch as she combines the three most important food groups — alcohol, caffeine and sugar — to create this lovely infused liqueur.

Beginning in Australia about a decade ago, the Babyccino craze recently headed to Great Britain and then leapt across the pond to the eastern US. According to The Brooklyn Paper, the term Babyccino is used to ‘describe a macchiato-like beverage featuring a shot of decaf espresso topped with steamed milk and froth, while others use it to describe steamed milk with foam on top and a touch of cinnamon.’

Surprisingly we haven’t seen this oh so popular trend pop up in every cafe in the west coast quite yet, but many east coast cafes have jumped on the bandwagon and put their own twist to these trendy miniature sized drinks. Running at about $2 for a cup, the price may seem a little steep until you consider the peace of mind provided to mothers everywhere, who can finally furnish their toddler with a drink just like mommy’s.

However, even though they’re cute in size and are said to be kid friendly, not everyone is a big fan of them. ‘There is no reason on earth to have these drinks and introduce caffeine to a younger population,’ said TODAY chief medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman.

While some may look at the health factors caffeine could cause in children, baristas themselves are affected by the new trend also. Many explain how the increase of children will affect the coffee shop community negatively. ‘Some baristas do not want to cater that much to kids,’ states a blog on roaste.com. ‘On the one hand, kids are good from some businesses, but if the noise becomes a factor, the home workers and students might take their laptops elsewhere.’

But other New York cafes, such as Sit and Wonder, cater to their Babyccino fans by outfitting their joints with changing stations in the bathroom and a backyard with toys for kids to play. Others, like the Tea Lounge, even offer stroller parking and designated areas for mothers to breastfeed their babies.

We say to each their own; who are we to say what’s right or wrong for a child we’re not rearing? And who’s to say that Babyccinos are only for kids? Bring out the inner child in you and enjoy a few sprinkles with your drink! Also, do you really want to deprive Ruby of her sprinkles on her Babyccino?!

So, when Brandi came to me with a recipe idea that would add a twist to this classic combo, I couldn’t resist!

Ingredients
Brownies

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 shots of espresso vodka
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Ganache

• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 6 tablespoons whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 shot of espresso vodka

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Place the 3 ounces of chocolate in a large mixing bowl
• In a smaller mixing bowl, melt butter in the microwave
• Pour butter over chocolate and let sit 30 seconds before stirring until all chocolate is melted
• Sift in sugar and cocoa, mixing until incorporated
• Using a wooden spoon, mix in mascarpone, eggs, vanilla and espresso vodka until smooth
• Mix in flour and salt
• Pour batter into a greased pan (use an 8×8 pan for thicker brownies or an 11×7 pan for thinner brownies)
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (*Note: If you use a larger pan for thinner brownies, it may only take around 30 minutes for them to finish baking, so keep a close eye on them!)
• Place pan on wire cooling rack

While the brownies are cooling, we’ll make our ganache!

• Place chocolate in a mixing bowl
• In a small saucepan, bring cream and butter to just below boiling over medium heat
• Pour over the chocolate and add the espresso vodka
• Let sit 30 seconds, then stir until smooth
• Pour the ganache over brownies, using a spatula to evenly distribute
• Let sit, uncovered, until completely cooled or place in refrigerator to speed up the process
• Once ganache is firm, cut brownies and store as you normally would

A couple of things about this recipe:

1. Mascarpone can be hard to find and kind of expensive. You can always use this mascarpone substitute recipe, which is what I did. Halve the recipe and you’ll get just enough for the 1/2 cup!
2. You can buy espresso vodka, but who would want to do that when you can make it? If you can hold out a couple of days, check in on Thursday to get Brandi’s espresso vodka recipe. Trust me, it’s totally worth it!

With all of that out of the way, I can finally tell you that these are very good. A little dense, definitely rich and well worth the extra effort this recipe requires!

 
Ingredients

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 4 oz butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 oz Monin Hazelnut syrup

Directions

1. Allow butter & cream cheese to soften to room temperature.
2. In a blender, combine butter and cream cheese and blend well.
3. Add the powdered sugar while blender is still running.
4. Slowly drizzle in the 3 oz of syrup and blend until smooth and creamy.

After last week’s recipe, where I semi-deliberately didn’t follow instructions and ended up with slightly less than perfect Espresso Meringues, I decided that I needed to take a step back and make something super easy.

The result? Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes, courtesy of a boxed cake mix. Like I said, super easy!

Ingredients

• Chocolate cake mix
• 3/4 cup brewed espresso (I used Caffe Umbria’s Terra Sana Blend)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
• Beat cake mix, espresso, water, oil and eggs on low speed with mixer for 30 seconds
• Kick the mixer up to medium for about 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally
• Spoon mix into cupcake wrappers, filling about 2/3 full
• Bake in oven 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
• Let cool on a wire rack before frosting

Keep in mind that the ingredients and directions will vary based on the boxed cake mix you use. To adapt the recipe to your cake mix, simply replace 50% or more of the water with brewed espresso.

This time, I used 60% espresso and, while it was definitely noticeable in the batter, it seemed to lose a lot of its taste after baking. Next time I make it, I’ll use only espresso (‘Look ma, no water!’) and see what happens. I’m thinking deliciousness!

The cupcakes turned out yummy and, if I do say so myself, quite pretty! To top it off, they were frosted with Hazelnut Cream Cheese Frosting. I know you want the recipe, so check in on Thursday to see Brandi whip some up!