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Irish Coffee
from the Kitchen of Sharmagne Leland-St. John

3/4 cup hot, strong, black coffee
1-2 teaspoons sugar
2 ounces Irish whiskey
1-2 tablespoons double cream

Fill a large brandy snifter with hot water,
pour out, refill with boiling water. Pour this
out. Add the hot coffee and sugar to taste.
Stir to dissolve, then add the whiskey. Pour
the cream over the back of a spoon to float
on top.


What is double cream?

Double cream weighs in at 48% butterfat, or at
least 8% higher than the highest-fat cream
available in the United States — heavy cream or
heavy whipping cream, which is 36% to 40% fat.
With a little effort on your part you can make a
homemade version of crème fraiche. Combine 2
tablespoons of buttermilk or sour cream with 2
cups of heavy cream. Heat the mixture to body
temperature in a pan, and then let the mixture
sit in a non-reactive container (stainless-steel,
glass, or ceramic) in a warm place for 24 hours
or so, until it thickens.

Next, line a strainer with a triple thickness of
cheesecloth, fill it with the crème frâiche, and
suspend that over a container in the refrigerator.
The whey will drain out of the cream, leaving it
with a higher fat content. By the time about a
quarter of a cup of whey drains from your 2 cups
of crème frâiche, you will have a fat content around
48% to 50%.







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