Ingredients:

• ½ oz dark chocolate

• 1 tbsp hazelnut spread

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 tsp coconut oil

• 2 shots espresso

• 4 oz milk, or enough to fill steam pitcher to minimum line

Equipment:

• All-in-one Espresso/Latte Machine (I used the Gevi Brand Espresso Machine)

4 oz Espresso Mug

Directions:

Melt the hazelnut spread, dark chocolate, and coconut oil in the microwave in 5-10 second intervals, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Add this mixture to the bottom of a 4 oz espresso mug and set aside.

Use the espresso machines operating directions to brew the espresso shot straight into the mocha mixture, stirring briefly as the espresso pours out of the machine to combine. Let the espresso continue to pull while you steam the milk.

To steam and froth the milk,  I used an espresso machine that has an automatic steam wand attached and milk steaming pitchers to quickly heat the milk and froths it at the same time

Pour the milk to at least the minimum line in pitcher to get the best results. Next, insert the steam wand in the milk so the steaming wand touches the bottom of the pitcher and begin the steaming process, slowly lowering and angling the steaming pitcher until you just start hearing a “ripping paper” sound. 

As the ripping sound recedes, that’s your indication to continue lowering and swirling the pitcher to mix the foam and milk and continue frothing in this way until you have a semi-dense but pourable foam milk for cappuccino, which ends up being around 1/2 foam to 1 /2 milk after steaming.

Pour a bit of the steamed milk into the glass and stir to combine.  Then, tilting the coffee mug with one hand, begin pouring in the foamed milk with the other hand, at a more aggressive angle so more of the foam immediately pours out into the cup. The goal is for the final product to be 1/2 mocha mixture with only a little bit of the steamed milk mixed in, espresso mixed in the bottom layer, with the remaining ½ of the space in the mug filled with the milk foam. 

The result should be something like a dreamy smooth mocha shot in the picture. Dust the top with cocoa powder. Enjoy.

Notes:

Using a 4 oz espresso mug, you will have left over milk after making the finished cappuccino,. You could just drink the left over warmed milk or use a bigger cup if you want but with this double shot drink, I prefer less milk in the drink itself.

If you don’t have an all-in one espresso machine, you could use instant espresso or try a stove top method for brewing espresso.  For an alternate way to froth the milk, you could just heat the milk in a small pot on the stove quickly over medium high heat just until it start to boil, then remove it from the heat and use a milk frothing wand in the same manner as the process above, angling the pot with one hand while operating the milk frother in the other hand.

To date, I’ve this recipe several times, only using my espresso machine, which always yields consistent results, so I cannot speak to the quality of the final product using the alternative methods.