How to Prepare Milk for Caf Au Lait

Café au lait is the French term for "coffee with milk." It is similar to the Italian latte, but instead of espresso, a strong dark-roast coffee is used. To make a café au lait, equal parts coffee and scalded milk are poured simultaneously into a warmed mug, thoroughly blending the two. Café au lait may be served sweetened or not, as individual preference dictates. In a coffeehouse, the steaming wand on the espresso machine is typically used to scald the milk. If you don't have an espresso machine, you can use the stove-top method for equally good results.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Small heavy-bottomed saucepan
• Milk (whole, 2%, 1% or skim)
• Wooden spoon or silicon spatula
• Instant-read thermometer

1. Pour cold milk into a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a scald, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.

2. The temptation is to whisk the milk as it heats, but this is unnecessary. Foam isn't a component of café au lait, so a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula works well as a stirring implement. Be sure to stir the bottom of the pot so that the milk doesn't scorch.

3. When you see a ring of tiny bubbles begin to form around the outside of the pan and steam is rising off the surface, insert the instant-read thermometer. Carefully tip the saucepan to the side so that the thermometer is immersed in the milk but is not touching the bottom of the pan.

4. The milk is ready when it reaches 170 to 180 degrees F. Remove the saucepan from the burner and pour or ladle the milk simultaneously with the hot coffee into a warmed mug. Add sweetener if desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the darkest-roast coffee you can find--French roast brewed strong works well.
• Be very cautious when pouring the milk; it is near boiling at the point it reaches the scald.

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