Mocha latte

• 4 tbsp infused butter

  Set your infusion strength above and this splits into infused and plain butter to hit whatever dose you want.

• 4 tbspunsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 tbspgranulated sugar
• 3 cupswhole milk
• 1 cupbrewed espresso — or very strong coffee
• ½ tspvanilla extract
• fine salt — a pinch

Method

1. 01

   Whisk the cocoa, sugar and salt in a cold saucepan with a few tablespoons of the milk until you have a smooth paste. Cocoa dumped into a full pan of milk forms lumps that never come out.

2. 02

   Add the rest of the milk and warm it over medium-low heat, whisking, until it steams and a skin starts to form at the edge. Do not let it simmer — boiled milk tastes scalded and the sugar scorches on the bottom.

   6 min

3. 03

   Pull the pan off the burner and let it stand for a minute, then whisk in the infused butter and the vanilla. The residual heat is enough to melt it; there is no reason to cook the infusion.

4. 04

   Run an immersion blender or a handheld frother through the milk for thirty seconds until the surface is thick with small bubbles. Blending breaks the melted fat into droplets fine enough for the milk proteins to hold, and that suspension is what keeps the butter from pooling on top.

5. 05

   Divide the espresso among four warmed mugs, about 2 oz each.

6. 06

   Pour the milk in with a measuring cup rather than straight from the pan. Four mugs filled by eye are four different doses, and the fat concentrates in whichever mug gets the foam.

7. 07

   Drink it warm. As it cools the emulsion loosens and you will see a faint butter ring at the rim — froth it again rather than stirring, which will not put the fat back into suspension.

8. 08

   A mug of coffee is refilled without thinking about it, so decide before you sit down how many you are having and make only that much.