Filter Coffee

In india filter coffee is a sub-culture in itself. It is made from dark roast ground robusta beans brewed as a decoction in a slow drip coffee filter. The very strong decoction is mixed with heated milk to yield filter coffee. The Filter Kaapi is the phonetic rendering of how coffee is often called Kaapi. It is also rendered to a froth by repeated pouring from one glass to other and trapping air to create a fairly stable foam.

It is then served very hot in a tall glass inside a not so tall but wide vessel. The two cups are for holding the inner cup while hot, its also for pouring the coffee into wider vessel to cool it down and sometimes with friends also is used for sharing!

A Custard

We love our filter coffee, no doubt! But we love our local coffee roaster too and quite loyal to the coffee they roast, the espresso’s they draw and their art of their latte. You can find them at True coffee roasters in Fitchburg.

So our loyalties are really divided, and fact is we need both. As we had our latte fix in the morning and temperatures started soaring we decided to convert the filter coffee into q cold dessert for ourselves.

The Filter Kaapi is many times flavored with cardamom and thats what we decided to use with our custard. Also chicory root was used during the world war scarcity to bulk up coffee but now has become synonymous with the taste of a filter Kaapi. We added a pinch of it. If you buy blends sometimes chicory comes added in the blend. There are two ways to make the coffee base, use ground coffee and instead of decoction directly boil it with milk and infuse. Then strain. Decocotion brings in the unwanted water into the base of our custard. Other way is to use instant coffee and dont shun it because people swear by it too. If someone tells you they love filter kaapi and you dig deeper you might be surprised to find its instant coffee they are talking about. A particular one called Bru Gold has really that kind of following. If you dont have access to filter coffee a espresso powder like the single serve starbucks equally do the trick, you can always customize them with more cardamom and chicory root powder (available in coffee aisles).

Other than that its a straightforward custard recipe. Make the milk base. Temper whisked eggs and sugar with this base. Then mix. Bake it slow in water bath to avoid broken custard and get a luxurious smooth texture.

It then requires to be cooled minimum 6 to ideally 8 hours for the custard to set and flavors to infuse.

We then heated some whole milk and whisked it to create bubbles. Actually skim milk makes better froth for this case but we were out. Then as it heated bubbles grow bigger and we get frothed milk, the warm temperature ensures stability. We topped it on top of the coffee custard and served.

The spoonfuls are luxurious and creamy with the coffee coming at the end. The fragrant and bitter notes in the end bring intensity and make you go back for more and within a few spoons the desserts gone!

Then you go to the next cup 🙂

Filter Kaapi Custard

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Author: www.breakingnaan.com
Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
Yield: Serves 4

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Ingredients

Scale

1 cup cream
0.5 cup milk
1 cardamom pod
4 tsp indian instant filter coffee (substitute instant espresso powder or use ground coffee but infuse with hot milk then strain and dont use water)
0.5 tsp chicory root powder (optional)
2 Tbsp sugar (we used dark muscovado sugar)
3 egg yolks
1 egg
1 deep baking tray
Hot water to fill the baking tray till at least halfway
4 baking cups or filter kaapi cups
4 Tbsp milk for frothing (skim milk makes better froth for this case)

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Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 325
Whisk the egg yolks with sugar and whisk the egg without foaming it too much and mix.
Heat the milk to just below a simmer with coffee, cardamom and chicory
Add a little stream of hot milk base to egg mixture while whisking egg mixture to temper it. This brings up temperature of eggs up without scrambling them.
Then mix the eggs in a stream while whisking into the milk.
Place tray in oven. Heat water and pour in the tray half way.
Pour custard mixtures equally in 4 cups not filling it to the brim.
Keep custard cups equidistant in water bath. Pour water down side of pan carefully if needed to bring up level.
Bake covered gently with baking paper for 35 to 50 minutes till custard is just set. (Do not let overcook)
Take it out and chill in refrigerator to set further.
After cooled and set before serving take cups out.
Heat 4 tbsp milk in a small pot and using a frother or whisk foam the milk. As it heats up bubbles will expand and stabilize. Turn off heat. Top cups by spooning foam on top, making sure to not add milk but only the froth. Froth and heat again if needed.
Serve.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 60 mins
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: Indian