Frozen Mexican Mocha Latte

If you partied a little too hard yesterday for Cinco de Mayo or the Kentucky Derby, this eye-opening frozen coffee drink is guaranteed to wake you up. My inspiration was the spicing in Mexican hot chocolate. This recipe makes two generous servings, or one very large one.

There is no alcohol in my recipe, but if you're looking for "the hair of the dog" you could certainly add a shot of Kahlua or other coffee liqueur, or creme de cacao or other chocolate liqueur.

The red or cayenne pepper provides a noticeably spicy-hot kick the more you use. For a gentler, subtle zip, stick with just a dash or two of pepper. And if you prefer a sweeter drink, use more brown sugar.

Other possible variations I haven't tried (yet) include making this with a couple of shots of very strong espresso instead of instant coffee (and reducing the amount of milk accordingly), and using sweetened condensed milk for a richer drink (omit the brown sugar).

If you make this recipe, please leave a comment with your feedback, and also with any modifications you make.


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup crushed ice
1 heaping Tbs instant coffee
1 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp (or more to taste) brown sugar, packed
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
scant 1/8 tsp ground cloves
up to a scant 1/8 tsp ground red or cayenne pepper (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend on high until smooth.  If you'd like the drink to look like that in the photo at the top, let it sit in the blender for a couple of minutes until some of the frozen foam settles on top, then pour the liquid into a glass half-way and top with a few spoonfuls of the foam. Alternatively, if you pour the drink right away, it will look like this photo on the right:

If desired, sprinkle the top with a little cinnamon, cocoa or even a bit of red pepper. You could also top with whipped cream if desired.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria