Lavender Kahlua and Cream is sweet, herbal, and refreshing. And it's so easy to make with fresh or dried lavender: your choice!
It's about the end of the season for my lavender plants. I've got two, and gathering enough leaves for this Kahlua and cream recipe and the photos basically used the last green leaves on there. I'm not sure if it's the weather or that Darrol Henry likes to eat handfuls of lavender leaves when he's playing out back, but these poor plants are done for right now.
More lavender recipes: Homemade Lavender Simple Syrup, Lavender-Lemon Gin and Tonic, Lavender-Grapefruit Gin and Juice
This lavender Kahlua and cream was inspired by a fancy coffee I had recently at Dulce Vegan. It was a warm latte sweetened with just a teensy bit of lavender syrup. You didn't taste the lavender when you sipped. It snuck up on you at the end, leaving a soothing, floral taste in your mouth. You guys, it was awesome.
To make my cocktail I used fresh lavender from my plants. If you're not growing lavender, though, this herb can be hard to find at the store. I found some dried lavender online that looks good. The instructions below allow for fresh or dried, so whatever you have available will work fine.
Lavender Kahlua and Cream
Yield: 2 cocktails
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons fresh lavender leaves (or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried)
- 1 cup unsweetened soy or almond milk (unsweetened is important. If you only have regular soy or almond milk, this drink will be mighty sweet. Try a teaspoon of maple syrup instead.)
- 2-3 teaspoons maple syrup
- 3 ounces Kahlua
Method
- In a small saucepan, heat the almond milk and maple syrup, stirring constantly until they're just about to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer to a large mug.
- Place the lavender leaves into a tea ball, and submerge them in the almond milk. Steep for 10 minutes.
- Remove the tea ball, and set your milk tea in the fridge to chill for 10-15 minutes.
- When the milk is chilled, fill those short glasses with ice and add 1 1/2 ounces of Kahlua to each. Divide the milk between the glasses, stir, and serve.
This recipe is part of the Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck!
Have a question? Tried this recipe? Share your thoughts!