Crème Brûlée Irish Coffee | A Flaming Good Spirit

What an idea, lighting coffee on fire for some burnt cream or caramelized sugar. If the traditional crème brûlée custard is a favorite of yours, you will love this boozy coffee that's perfect for entertaining ✨

I saw someone post a picture of Crème Brûlée the other day and I was inspired to embark on some of my own trial and error. I know that floating vodka on top of a drink will allow it to flame but would whiskey work? What would happen if I tried adding the sugar before flaming the drink?

Coffee drink on pompom trivet in front of lakeview window — Crème Brûlée Irish Coffee

So, here's what happened - some pure deliciousness. I was pleasantly surprised. The sugar didn't float on the whiskey and didn't really caramelize while the drink was on fire, however if you add some whipped topping for the sugar to sit on then it will brown nicely for that crispy crust signature to the custard dessert.

You can make any flavor coffee you'd like, I stuck with a vanilla flavor. First as to not stray too far from the custard dessert, and two I wanted to give myself the best chance I could that the drink would actually catch fire. Vanilla flavoring or extract is usually alcohol based which is why, if you were wondering, it's added at the end of a hot drink recipe. The alcohol will burn off taking with it most of the vanilla flavor.

Ingredients

1 cup of coffee
2 tsp vanilla syrup, divided
1oz shot of high-proof whiskey ( I used Four Roses which is 90 proof)
2 TBL heavy cream
1 tsp sugar

Step 1: Brew Coffee

Brew a small cup of coffee, add 1 tsp of vanilla syrup.

Step 2: Add Whiskey

Float your whiskey shot on top of your coffee, the easiest way to do this is to slowly pour the shot over a spoon that is suspended on top of your coffee.

Step 3: Light It

In terms of making this drink, you could skip this step if you wanted to since it doesn't change anything about the drink but why would you? Carefully hold a flame over the drink until it catches. What a great party trick!

Step 4: Top with Whipped Topping

Blow out your flame! Then whip the heavy cream with remaining 1 tsp of vanilla syrup until peaks form. Scoop on top of coffee and flatten so you have a nice smooth base.

Step 5: Sprinkle Sugar

Sprinkle sugar evenly over the flat whipped topping - ensure it is fully covered.

Step 6: Torch It

Now don't skip this step - take a torch to the sugar and slowly move over the entire top until the sugar browns and caramelizes.

I don't know if it makes a difference or not but don't risk it - this is a Irish Coffee mug that has a good flanged opening shape on top

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And that's it!

So much fun, I'll definitely be doing this again! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for more drink inspiration, thanks for reading! 🫶🏼

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