Cafe Diablo
A dark, sweet, fiercely spiced coffee, flamed with brandy and two liqueurs and served in small cups after dinner. It is café brûlot's devilish cousin: more spice, more sugar, and coffee liqueur to deepen it.
At a glance
- Coffee : spirits
- 3:1
- Active time
- 10 min
- Total time
- 15 min
- Makes
- 4 small cups
- Serve
- Hot
- Kit
- Heatproof bowl
Ingredients
Note: Have the hot coffee ready in a jug before anything is lit. It is what puts the fire out.
Method
-
Warm the spirits with the spice
Put the brandy, both liqueurs, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and citrus peel in the heatproof bowl or pan. Warm it gently, stirring until the sugar starts to dissolve. Take it off the heat.
2 to 3 minutes -
Light it, carefully
With your face and sleeves back, light the surface with a long match. Stir gently with a long ladle so the sugar caramelises a little and the peel scorches. Let it burn for about a minute.
Flame about 1 minute -
Coffee in, flame out
Pour in the hot coffee steadily. The flames go out. Stir and let it stand a minute.
-
Strain into small cups
Ladle into small cups, leaving the spices behind. Serve at once.
Why this works
Café diablo uses the same technique as café brûlot, and the flame does the same three jobs. It burns off part of the alcohol so the drink is warming rather than raw. It caramelises the sugar dissolved in the spirit, adding a bitter, toffee edge. And it scorches the citrus peel and heats the spices, pushing their aromatic oils, limonene from the peel, eugenol from the cloves and cinnamaldehyde from the cinnamon, into the liquid and the air. A cold mix of the same ingredients tastes flat by comparison.
What makes it diablo rather than brûlot is more of everything. More sugar, more clove, a second liqueur, and coffee liqueur in particular, which adds sweetness and a second, deeper roast note. The result is darker and more dessert-like. It is a home and after-dinner drink, usually made for a table of four in a pan rather than with the theatre of a restaurant brûlot bowl.
The coffee goes in last because it is the fire extinguisher. Adding a large volume of hot liquid cools the burning spirit below the point where it can sustain a flame and dilutes the alcohol, so the fire goes out within seconds. That timing also stops the caramelisation before the sugar burns.
The name, devil's coffee, simply describes the flames and the spice. Many versions of the recipe exist, and the drink has a long association with New Orleans alongside brûlot.
Variations
- Without the flame: warm everything, then add the coffee. Safer, less caramel.
- Café brûlot: less spice, no coffee liqueur, served from a bowl. See café brûlot.
- With cream: a spoon of lightly whipped cream floated on each cup.
- With chicory coffee: New Orleans coffee with chicory adds body and bitterness.
This recipe sets spirit alight. Use a heatproof metal pan or thick ceramic bowl, never glass. Keep your face, hair and sleeves back, use a long match, keep the bottles capped and away from the table, never add more spirit to a flame, and keep a lid nearby to smother it. Not for children, drivers, or anyone avoiding alcohol.
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Questions
What is café diablo?
A flaming spiced coffee made by igniting brandy, orange liqueur and coffee liqueur with sugar, cloves, cinnamon and citrus peel, then adding hot coffee.
What is the difference between café diablo and café brûlot?
Diablo is spicier and sweeter and adds coffee liqueur. Café brûlot is the New Orleans restaurant original, made in a bowl at the table.
Do you have to flame café diablo?
No. Warm the spirits and spices and add the coffee. Flaming adds caramel and a burnt-orange aroma, and burns off some alcohol.
How many people does café diablo serve?
This recipe makes four small cups. Double it in a larger pan, but keep the flaming brief.