Hot Café Carajillo with Flamed Brandy and Caramelized Sugar

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The original Spanish way to drink coffee with liquor: brandy warmed with sugar, lemon peel and cinnamon, briefly set alight so the sugar caramelizes and the alcohol softens, then poured over fresh hot espresso and finished with a splash of vanilla-scented Licor 43. It takes ten minutes, needs no bar tools, and drinks like dessert and a nightcap at once. Two small glasses — the point is a short, intense, very warm drink.

Ingredients

• 3 oz Spanish brandy (Brandy de Jerez) or cognac
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 strips lemon peel, wide, no white pith
• 1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
• 4 whole coffee beans

• 4 oz hot espresso (two double shots) or very strong stovetop/moka coffee

• 1 oz Licor 43 (or other vanilla-forward liqueur)
• 2 strips orange peel, for garnish
• freshly grated cinnamon or nutmeg, for dusting

Instructions

1. Clear your workspace first: move the brandy bottle and any towels, paper or bottles of spirits at least an arm's length away from the stove, and set a metal pan lid within reach to smother the flame if needed. Have a long fireplace match or long lighter ready.
2. Warm the glasses. Fill two small heatproof glasses (4–6 oz, ideally with handles) or two espresso cups with boiling water and let them stand 2 minutes, then dump the water and dry them just before serving.
3. Pull or brew the coffee so it is ready and piping hot: 4 oz total of espresso, or 4 oz of moka pot / very strong drip coffee brewed at double strength. Keep it covered off the heat — do not let it boil.
4. In a small, wide stainless steel saucepan (not nonstick), combine the brandy, sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon stick halves and coffee beans. Set over medium-low heat and warm for 45–60 seconds, swirling, until the liquid is hot to the touch and just beginning to steam — about 130°F. Do not let it simmer; you want it warm enough to give off vapor, not cooked.
5. Turn off the burner (if you cook on gas, slide the pan off the flame first). Standing back, hold a long match at the edge of the pan and touch it to the surface of the brandy. It will light with a low blue flame — sometimes almost invisible, so look closely rather than relighting.
6. Let it burn 20–30 seconds, gently tilting and swirling the pan so the sugar dissolves and lightly caramelizes against the hot metal. The flame will shrink and go out on its own; if it is still burning after 40 seconds, cover the pan with the lid to extinguish it. Never pour from the bottle while anything is lit.
7. Stir the base with a spoon to dissolve any remaining sugar. It should smell like toasted lemon, cinnamon and caramel. Strain out the peel, cinnamon and beans, or simply hold them back with the spoon as you pour.
8. Divide the hot espresso between the two warmed glasses, then pour the flamed brandy base over the top and stir once — pouring the spirit onto the coffee keeps the layers from muddying and gives you a smoother texture.
9. Float 1/2 oz Licor 43 into each glass over the back of a spoon so it settles as a pale band on top. Twist a strip of orange peel over each glass to release its oil, drop it in, and dust with a scrape of fresh cinnamon or nutmeg. Serve immediately, while the glass is still too hot to hold comfortably by the side.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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