Me and coffee. It’s a love hate relationship. On one hand, I love coffee flavor, preferably when mixed with copious amounts of cream and sugar. A punch of espresso brings life to dark chocolate. Coffee ice cream, well, if it weren’t so cold I would bathe in it.
On the other hand, more than a few sips of highly caffeinated anything and I turn into a shaky, jittery mess. Call it low blood pressure or what have you, caffeine and I are not friends.
But that doesn’t stop me from indulging in a (small) cup every now and then when I’m feeling extra droopy. So while, no, I wouldn’t call myself an avid coffee drinker, the repressed coffee-fiend in me just couldn’t turn down the opportunity to develop four exclusive recipes for Nescafé.
The Dolce Gusto line is fairly new to the market, competing with household names like Keurig and Krups. Granted I’ve never used those other machines, but the ease of use and flavor possibilities of the Dulce Gusto products are pretty impressive. Not to mention that their Piccolo machine (and be sure to click through/scroll down for an opportunity to win one!) is nice and compact. When your counter space is scarce, having a small footprint is crucial. So yay for that. Taylor would also like to add that he loves the virtually instant cleanup. Just toss the used capsule and you’re done. From someone who spends a good 20 minutes each day rinsing and refilling his brew machine and coffee grinder, that’s a big deal. No, he won’t be switching to pods entirely, drinking 2-3 cups a day it’s just not economical, but he could definitely appreciate its benefits.
I created and photographed four recipes, to be promoted and displayed on the Dolce Gusto Facebook page throughout the month of December. If you go there, you’ll see the recipes for Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake, Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles, and the Espresso Marshmallows currently featured. And stay tuned, because next week might be my favorite of the lot: Tiramisu Shooters (pictured above). All the deliciousness of tiramisu in a precious little package. Zing!
Espresso Marshmallows
These marshmallows have a surprisingly strong espresso flavor. They’re great served in hot chocolate, coffee, dipped in melted chocolate, or simply eaten plain.
Ingredients:
- 2 packets unflavored gelatin
- 1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup cold water, divided
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- powdered sugar, for dusting
Directions:
- Butter and line an 8×8 or 9×9 square baking pan with parchment paper. Generously butter parchment, then dust with powdered sugar, making sure the sides are corners are coated.
- Dissolve espresso powder in 1/3 cup water and place in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle gelatin over water. Let sit for at least 5 minutes to soften.
- In a heavy saucepan, combine remaining 1/4 cup water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Stir over medium heat until dissolved. Bring to a boil, then cover for 2 minutes. Remove cover and boil, without stirring, until mixture reaches 238ºF, about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Fit mixer with the whisk attachment, and turn mixer to low. Very carefully pour hot sugar mixture down the inside of the bowl into the gelatin, taking care not to splatter.
- Increase mixer speed to medium high, and beat for 12 to 15 minutes or until mixture is thick and glossy and lukewarm to the touch. Beat in vanilla and pour into prepared pan (the mixture is extremely sticky at this point, so don’t worry if you can’t get it all out of the bowl). Let sit, uncovered, for at least 3 hours or until set. Remove from baking pan and cut into squares. Dust liberally with powdered sugar so the squares don’t stick together. Marshmallows will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Developed for Nescafé Dulce Gusto.
All images and text ©Lindsay Landis / Love & Olive OilDid you make this recipe?
Let us know what you think!
Leave a Comment below or share a photo and tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #loveandoliveoil.
The fine print: Giveaway brought to you by Nescafé Dolce Gusto. No purchase necessary. Open to US residents only. Void where prohibited. I was paid to develop 4 unique recipes for Nescafé, and was provided with an identical coffee maker and samples; however I was not required to post anything and all opinions written are entirely my own.
I make an apricot cookie that has espresso powder in it. Once I could not find espresso powder so I soaked some ground coffee beans, strained it, and used the liquid instead of vanilla extract – it worked great!
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My favorite way to enjoy coffee is with CHOCOLATE! As we speak, I have some Endangered Species brand in my kitchen, Dark chocolate with crushed espresso beans! YUM
Chocolate — brownies, cakes — great on their own, even better with coffee added.
In any chocolate dessert coffee enhances. And I also love jamocha almond fudge ice cream.
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TWEET!
Already a FB fan!
Of course, my first love is drinking it, but I also enjoy using it in my chocolate brownies – it really does deepen the chocolate flavor!
I have like Love and Olive Oil on Facebook :)
I love pouring espresso over vanilla ice cream and coffee ice cream
I love Coffee Cake ;)
I love coffee ice-cream – especially coffee oreo!
I like you on Facebook already too!
I love tiramisu!! And not just any tiramisu…I am a bit of a snob about it, so it needs to be the real homemade stuff :)
I’m so glad you posted this! I too made marshmallows recently (over the weekend), and from the two boxes of gelatin I have left that I stole from Kroger (yeah, umm.. that was an accident, I did not mean to steal), I have exactly 2 packets left! My usual recipe requires more packets than that, so I wasn’t sure what I’d be doing with my leftover packets. And, I gave most of my marshmallow away, so I was craving more! Now I can make these!
Ok, giveaway, my favorite way to enjoy coffee other than drinking it, is smelling it! I love the smell of coffee.
Fav way to enjoy coffee: in tiramisu! So delicious :)
I have to say holding a hot cup of coffee on a freezing cold day here in Colorado is incentive enough to buy/make some. It’s a hand warmer that you can dispose of and enjoy while doing so! Mocha is the way to go ;)
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My favorite recipe with coffee involved is the tiramisu cake you posted. I have made it twice and it is so amazing!
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Definitely with sugar and cream
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mmmm tiramisu (: i love coffee with a macaroon !
Coffee is my life, I love to eat chocolate pot du creme made with expresso. Also Tiramisu with expresso. Anything with coffee in it is heavenly
I love, love, love coffee ice cream. Preferably with little chips of dark chocolate in it!
Tirimisu, for sure! These photos are absolutely gorgeous, Lindsay!
We make “cheater” cookies from cake mixes, and give them a flavor boost with coffee in place of the water. I’ll also use a touch to flavor the ganache/icing for the cookies if we’re feeling a little fancy.
Tiramisu! And I like you on facebook!
I like you on Facebook
I’ve liked you on Facebook too!
I love putting a little bit of coffee in desserts like brownies to give them an extra kick! Merry Christmas!
I love the flavor in coffee cake!!
mmmm… I can’t think of many ways I DON’T enjoy coffee – I love coffee! I really like coffee nips, and cookies and cake that have a coffee kick are delicious! and a little reduced coffee added to my slow-cooker chili! Oh and I already like you on facebook too, but I’ll post there also :-)
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I love to put coffee in brownies!
I love coffee ice cream, especially with dark chocolate chunks.
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Other than drinking coffee, I love it in cakes, cupcakes and brownies, and ice cream and candy. Ok, so I pretty much enjoy coffee in ANY form!
I love espresso in my brownies!
Thank you so much for the giveaway! …. My email is [email protected]… Or the one I registered the comment with! Thank you!
I liked you on Fb! Kaykay hgr
I’m following you on twitter and I retweeted :) plaematebunne08…
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I tweeted and follow you as well!
I like my coffee black, strong and with a touch of raw sugar.
I love to bake with it! Cookies, cakes, brownies…… or even make it with ice cream And chunks of chocolate!.. Im in the process of getting everything I need for lady fingers dipped in coffe, layered on different flavors of ice creams with maby some caramel and choc/coffee drizzles :)….. I do ALOT with coffee…. Thank you for the giveaway :) <3 Happy Holidays <3
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I love drinking mocha latte with whipped cream drizzled with choclate