One year for Christmas when my brother and I were about 10 and 12, Mum and Dad gave us joint presents. A milkshake maker, an air popped popcorn maker and a recipe book for kids.

What an awesome summer that was – we ate a lot, and we ate well!!

20… ahem… something years later, the popcorn maker still features regularly, now for my children. In fact we used it today for our Friday movie 🙂

I’m not sure what happened to the milkshake maker.

I suspect the recipe book is still hidden in my Mum’s recipe cupboard … But I really don’t need it anymore, since the ice coffee recipe from it is firmly cemented in my brain (along with the reminder inscribed on the inside from Mum to clean up after we cooked!!). I would make it for mum ready when she got home from work on a really hot summer’s day. Or at the weekends when my parents had been hard at work in the garden.

Now it is my husband who is the fan… and Will requests it in decaf form!! We’ve cut back the sugar and converted it to an unrefined form.

See below the recipe for a chocolate syrup.

•  1.5 cups Instant coffee (whichever brand you enjoy, but it must be instant)
• 1 cup coconut sugar/raw sugar/rice malt syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1.5 cups boiling water

Mix together all ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Simmer gently, stirring regularly, for about 10-12 minutes. (Or 100C, speed 2 for about 12-14 mins).

Pour into glass jars and seal.

 

To use the syrup mix a tablespoon with a glass of cold milk of your choice and some ice blocks blocks in a blender/Nutribullet/food processor/thermal cooker.

It is certainly a much cheaper option to make this at home if you are a regular buyer of the in store or cafe variety!.

If you like different flavoured coffees you can replace the vanilla with an essence of that flavour (hazelnut is particularly nice!).

During my university years I became (just slightly) coffee reliant and one of my very favourite drinks was a (large, eek!)’Very Vanilla Chiller’ from a certain popular coffee chain. There’s no way I could drink one now without feeling ill, but I have discovered that this syrup together with a handful of ice blocks and very cold unsweetened vanilla almond milk, makes a very close approximation!! Yum!

You can also use a splash of this syrup in plain buttercream icing to turn into into coffee icing for Banana cakes etc.

To make a chocolate version of this syrup follow the same method, but use:

• 1 cups Cocoa
• 1.5 cups coconut sugar/raw sugar/rice malt syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1.5 cups boiling water

This version is great mixed with ice blocks and milk of choice for milkshakes or stirred through hot milk for decadent hot chocolate … make sure you add some mini marshmallows 😉

Enjoy 🙂