Café Brûlot is one of the spectacular presentation dishes of New Orleans fine dining. It requires a special brûlot bowl and ladle and a lot of skill and daring. Coffee is mixed with brandy, orange liqueur, orange and lemon peels and spices and lit afire. In the traditional restaurants of New Orleans, the whole lot is rolled out on a cart and an expert waiter makes a big show of mixing and lighting the concoction. In a serious Café Brûlot show, the flaming brew is ladled down long strips of orange peel, creating a rather spectacular blue flame.

All this is quite a lot of work, as you can imagine, and as I have neither the equipment not the fearlessness to do it myself, I took the flavors of café brûlot and incorporated them into a deep, chocolate-y brownie that makes a perfect Mardi Gras treat.

[yumprint-recipe id=’54’]