The French coffee recipe
for your table
Rinse the glass with boiling water and let it stand for half a minute. A preheated glass does not draw heat from the coffee, which saves you from a lukewarm first sip later. Pour out the water just before serving.
Put the sugar in the glass and add the Grand Marnier or cognac. Stir with a long bar spoon until the sugar has dissolved; it dissolves more easily in the drink than later in the coffee. Undissolved sugar makes the coffee heavier, so the cream sinks through it more quickly.
Pour in the hot coffee until it reaches about two centimeters below the rim and stir once more. Then let the glass stand for half a minute so the coffee can settle. No cream will stay on coffee that is still swirling.
Whip the cream until it is just thickened, so it still runs slightly off the spoon, and let it flow over the rounded side of a spoon onto the coffee. It will remain as a separate layer on top. Don’t stir: you drink the hot coffee through the cold cream, and that contrast is the recipe.
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The story
French coffee belongs to a group of coffees that are all made the same way: coffee, sugar, a splash of strong liquor and a layer of cream that remains floating. What determines the name is the bottle that goes in it. In Irish coffee, that is Irish whiskey; in French coffee, a French bottle: Grand Marnier or cognac. You mainly taste that difference in the first impression. Grand Marnier brings bitter orange that contrasts with the coffee, while cognac brings grape and oak that linger underneath. The technique remains the same in both cases, and that technique is all about the cream.
The right glass
A French coffee belongs in a glass with a handle holding 24 to 28 centiliters. The handle keeps your hand away from the hot glass, and that is no luxury: the coffee goes in boiling hot. The tulip shape most of these glasses have keeps the cream layer together instead of letting it run toward the rim, and with clear glass you can see how sharply the boundary between coffee and cream remains. If the glass has a foot, it keeps the heat away from the tabletop. More models can be found among the coffee glasses.
Onis Acapulco Irish Coffee Glass 28 cl (6 pieces)
Pasabahce Colombian Irish Coffee Glass 26 cl (2 pieces)
Both sets together € 31,90.
The right tools
For a French coffee, in addition to the glass, use a long bar spoon to stir the sugar all the way to the bottom and a jigger to measure exactly two centiliters. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 47,85.
What do you make a French coffee with?
For a French coffee, you need cognac, or Grand Marnier, a cognac containing bitter orange. On every spirit page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it goes with and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
Replace the Grand Marnier with Cointreau and you keep the orange but lose the cognac base; use only cognac and it becomes rounder and woodier. With Irish whiskey, the same coffee is called an Irish coffee, and with amaretto, an Italian coffee. Without alcohol, a teaspoon of grated orange zest stirred into the sugar works surprisingly well, although you miss the warmth of the spirit. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
Place the glass on a saucer with a long spoon beside it, so your guests can stir if they wish; you should not stir it yourself. Serve a glass of cold water alongside it, which makes the second sip taste sharp again. Serve immediately after pouring, because after about ten minutes the cream will still sink into the coffee.
Good to know
Why the cream stays afloat
Softly whipped cream is lighter than coffee with dissolved sugar, which is where the separation comes from. Whip the cream until it just holds traces but still runs off the spoon. If it is too loose, it sinks through; if it is too stiff, it stays as a lump on the rim instead of forming a closed layer.
The difference from an Irish coffee
The structure is identical: coffee, sugar, spirit and cream. Only the bottle differs. An Irish coffee contains Irish whiskey, while a French coffee contains Grand Marnier or cognac. That makes the French coffee sweeter and, with Grand Marnier, distinctly orangey.
Which coffee you make it with
Strongly brewed filter coffee or a lungo works better than a single espresso: you need twelve centiliters, and an espresso becomes too thin when diluted. Brew the coffee just before pouring. Coffee that has been sitting on a hot plate for fifteen minutes tastes even harsher through the cream.
Grand Marnier or cognac
Grand Marnier is cognac with bitter orange in it, so with that one bottle you get both. Pure cognac makes the coffee rounder and drier. Two centiliters is enough in either case; with more, the alcohol overwhelms the coffee and the cream becomes too light as a counterbalance.
How many to make at once
Line up the glasses, distribute the sugar and liquor first, then pour the coffee in one round. Whip the cream in one bowl for the whole table. Do not make more than six at a time: with more, the first glass will already be cooling before the last one gets its cream.
Frequently asked questions
What is a French coffee?
A French coffee is hot coffee with two centiliters of Grand Marnier or cognac, a spoonful of brown sugar, and a layer of soft whipped cream on top. It is served in a glass with a handle, and you drink the coffee through the cream without stirring.
What is the difference between a French coffee and an Irish coffee?
Only the bottle. An Irish coffee is made with Irish whiskey, while a French coffee is made with Grand Marnier or cognac. The rest of the recipe is the same: coffee, sugar, and a floating layer of cream. Grand Marnier adds orange notes, while cognac mainly adds grape and wood.
Which glass do you use for a French coffee?
A 24- to 28-centiliter glass with a handle, usually footed. The handle keeps your fingers away from the hot glass, the tulip shape keeps the layer of cream together, and the clear glass shows the two layers. Rinse the glass with boiling water before pouring.
How do you keep the cream floating?
Whip the cream until it is just soft and pour it slowly over the rounded side of a spoon onto the coffee. Make sure the sugar has dissolved and that the coffee is still; cream sinks through coffee that is still swirling.
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