My dear friend Susan was stuck in the Philly airport overnight, I knew I could save her day with something special like these Coffee Ice Cubes with Baileys for a night cap. Grr! August thunderstorms. Rather than allowing her to stay at the hotel airport, I encouraged her to head on over to our house/b&b. She was tired, it was late and she was fairly sure her day was firmly planted in the “no good” category. Imagine her surprise when I handed her an Irish Cream with coffee ice cubes and forced her to stay up all night giggling. It’s so easy to really “wow!” even an unexpected guest with minimal planning. Coffee ice cubes are a great start. Just brew extra strong coffee, I usually make decaf so that no one has a problem with these at night, and freeze them in silicone trays. I recommend the silicone because these don’t pop out quite as well as traditional ice cubes. You will have to do some peeling back the edges and the silicone won’t break since it’s flexible. I pop them out as soon as they’re frozen and store them in freezer bag so they’re ready to go at a moments notice. Coffee Ice Cubes are also wonderful for iced coffees and lattes in the summer months as they keep things cold without diluting the coffee.
- strong coffee
- ice cube trays
Measure the volume of your ice trays. Make that amount of coffee extra strong (I like espresso). You may wish to consider decaffeinated coffee since these are often served as dessert itself or an after dinner drink. Let the coffee cool to room temperature and pour into the trays. Freeze.
Pop out and into freezer bags. Serve 3 cubes in a highball glass with a finger or two of Irish Cream. It's decadent and easy.
- This takes awhile to freeze, so plan at least a day ahead.
Going to your house is *always* the best decision.
And, yes, as soon as I got home I started stocking coffee ice cubes too!