café au lait

Happy Friday! Trying to decide if Fridays should be frenchie or foodie Friday. This post is both. I think my first favorite french fare was a simple bowl of café au lait.  It always seemed to me like the classic, perfect way to start a Parisian morning.  I have an image in my head of sitting in my Parisian apartment with the morning sun streaming though the window, sipping my bol, maybe with a slice of toasted baguette left over from yesterday to dip… of course the sunlight is streaming in because in my Paris dream world I wouldn’t have to leave for work at the crack of dawn, like I do here in the real world of Ohio. I barely have time to do some yoga or a short Peloton ride and maybe a sip of coffee, if my husband makes some. Anyway! I am so excited to have discovered a new, not traditional, but the best, café au lait recipe. I’m also excited about my first giveaway! More on that below.

Amour de café

I’ve always loved a good bowl of café au lait. I remember visits to La Chatelaine in between morning classes at OSU when I would sit and sip on one and maybe look through their french magazines or enjoy a croissant or baguette – so nice. I also love café au lait bowls and have always wanted to collect them, there are so many pretty ones to be found, the traditional being plain white which is simple and also beautiful. Eventually I drifted away from my bol, all the milk and calories, and switched to espresso. In fact, in all of the times I’ve been to Paris, I don’t believe I’ve had a café au lait there. I did get to experience a matcha latte at Cafe Kitsuné though, it was magical.

What’s the difference?

So what is the difference between a café au lait and a latte? Or a café creme or a flat white even (been wondering about flat whites every since I heard Oliver from The Earful Tower talk about them)?  Let’s see… 

café au lait  
Half strong coffee/espresso, half milk, no froth. Typically drank at home at breakfast.

latte   
Espresso, more milk than coffee some froth. 

café creme or noisette
Espresso with steamed milk and some froth. A noisette is a dash of milk, an espresso is a little bit more milk.   
                                         

flat white
Ristretto, smaller than a latte, steamed whole milk.

Also, not French, but coffee nonetheless, check out this recipe for a café dalgona – sounds delicious!

The secret ingredient

So all of the above sound good, but what is it that rekindled my love of café au lait?  Oat milk!  I’ve tried it with skim milk, with almond, with coconut… no good.  Sounds simple, too easy even. But dare I say?  Oat milk makes the best café au lait!  Really! C’est vraiment délicieux! Try it and see! 

Print Recipe

Café au lait chez Charlotte

My special recipe café au lait with a secret ingredient. In my original post the secret ingredient was simply oat milk.  Sounds simple, too easy, right?  Oat milk makes the best café au lait!  Really! C’est vraiment délicieux! I didn't think it could get any better, but then I thought to add cardamom. I find cardamom magical, it certainly took this café au lait to the next level.

Total Time7 minutes mins

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: French

Keyword: cardamom, oat milk, secret ingredient

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• ½ cup oat milk
• seeds from 1 or 2 cardamom pods
• ½ cup espresso or strong coffee I 💕 Grounds & Hounds*

Instructions

• Heat oat milk and cardamom seeds in small pan over low heat until steaming, whisking occasionally to keep from sticking , don’t let it boil. 
• Brew espresso or strong coffee. Pour milk in a coffee bowl, add coffee. Savourer!

Notes

*link to Grounds & Hounds

It’s giveaway time!* I found the bowl pictured at the top of the post on The Animal Rescue Site and thought it was just charming. I got one for me and one for one of you! Just leave a comment below about your favorite kind of coffee and I will pick a winner at random on Monday. Bonne chance and à bientôt! *(Giveaway is over)