If you do much baking with chocolate, you probably know that many recipes call for a small amount of espresso powder. The reason is that a bit of espresso powder significantly enhances the chocolate flavor in cakes, brownies, etc., without causing your treat to have a mocha flavor.
You probably also know that it’s difficult to find espresso powder. If you do find it, be prepared for “sticker shock.” It’s not only expensive, but also comes in much larger quantities than you’ll probably need.
According to the King Arthur site, espresso powder is made from ground, brewed, and dried coffee beans. Therefore, I figured that if I brewed coffee, then I could make espresso powder from the leftover grounds! Seriously? Yes – it worked like a charm! Here’s what I did.
Making the Espresso Powder:
First, I spread the leftover coffee grounds on a baking sheet. Then I put them in my oven set to the lowest temperature possible, which was 170° F. The key here is that I wanted to dry out the grounds, not roast them.
Anyway, I left the coffee grounds in the oven for several hours, until they dried out and felt slightly crunchy. After two hours, the grounds were dried out, but still not crunchy. It took me another 30 minutes before the grounds felt crunchy.
Next, I put the dried out grounds in a coffee grinder, and ground them until I had a fine powder. If I hadn’t had a coffee grinder, I probably could have used a blender, a food processor, or a mortar and pestle.
I ended up with homemade espresso powder that was perfect in my chocolate masterpiece (stay tuned!). Yum!
Make Your Own Espresso Powder
Ingredients
- Used coffee grounds (the amount you use will determine how much espresso powder you end up with)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170° F, or lowest setting if above 170°F
- Spread used coffee grounds on foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 2 to 3 hours until grounds are dry and slightly crunchy.
- Transfer to coffee grinder, and process to a fine powder.
- Store in airtight container.
- Yield: Depends on the amount of coffee grounds you start with.
First!
No, but seriously, great tip you’ve got here. I had to go through an accelerated educational process this morning as to what the heck ‘espresso powder’ really is. There’s quite a bit of less than accurate information on the out there. I’d run into a DIY recipe almost identical to this one just before landing here, this one having a bit more detail. And yeah, ‘sticker shock” is what I’d say, too. Holy #[email protected] It’s $4.00/0z or more from what I found so far with the priciest batch at William Sonoma and the in-house brand priced at $7.14/oz. Being I purchase, roast and brew my own coffee beans as it is, seems your recipe here’s a no-brainier. The real (taste) test will be when my first ever attempted fudgey, whole wheat brownies get created,
Thanks for the money saving and hopefully flavor enhancing tip!
Let me know how the fudgey whole wheat brownies turn out! I’ve had great success with my chocolate recipes using this technique.
Hi Chula,
On second thought, this process here as it relates to and affects recipes, namely ones calling for ‘Espresso Powder” is not ideal as I just found out. Espresso powder (I know only because I Googled it 🙂 ) is not simply finely ground dark roasted coffee grounds, be they brewed or not. It has to do with a process by which the powder that’s created is fully soluble and retains most of the beans original flavor and intensity; that’s something ‘used’ coffee grounds can not duplicate on either count. That said however, your technique here still has to add a little something at a minimum I would think, right?
In case your interested, here’s where part of my ‘enlightenment’ was found : https://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-how-is-instant-co-69158 Yeah, it describes instant coffee but when it comes down to it, that’s what that overly pricey ‘espresso powder’ is.
Thanks David! I agree that the real espresso powder is overly pricey especially when you just need a teaspoon here and there for a recipe.
Hi. This is such a great idea. I put off a recipe because I didn’t want to pay the amount for such a small amount it called for. I was wondering with the powder in a air tight container, how long will it hold in there?
Thank you
Cynthia
Cynthia,
If the powder is in an airtight container and put in the refrigerator, it should be good for about a month.
Chula
My oven has a proof feature which is for proofing things with yeast. Maybe I can use that for it? I don’t know the exact temperature, but do know it is very low as it doesn’t cook the dough when I place it in there. It provides a draft free environment that is slightly warmer then the house is. I can grab the oven rack when it is in proof without it burning.
Dawn, From what I understand, the maximum temperature that the proofing feature is likely to reach is around 95°F. I’m not sure that low a temperature would be able to thoroughly dry out the coffee grinds in a reasonable amount of time. Chula
Should you use a certain type of coffee to get the best flavor in making the homemade espresso. Thanks
Joanne,
I just use our regular medium roast coffee when I make the espresso. I’ve not experimented with any other type of coffee.
Chula
Thank you for the tip guys. I’ve literally just emptied my coffee machine tray to try it. It’s in the oven as I type.
I know I’m late to the party with this comment but I do have something kind of important to add. This is in response to the comment with the instant coffee link. There’s a big difference between, “espresso powder,” and, “instant espresso powder,” or any other instant coffee. Espresso powder is much more potent than instant espresso powder. You have the correct process for espresso powder, which can be used for baking. Instant espresso powder is in fact dehydrated brewed coffee, which does have everything to do with water solubility. Instant espresso powder is really too weak to use in baking. Idk if that makes sense but if I go back and proof read the probably redundant paragraph I just wrote I’ll just delete the whole thing and move on with my day.
Thanks for your comment Lindsey!
I LOVE making something from nothing and this is one great find. Am making mine now.
Thanks Bob!
Hi Chula,
Can I use fresh ground coffee straight from its container when it’s dry? I mean do you really have to use it to make a cup of coffee first before you bake it?
I have ground coffee but I’m not a coffee drinker, so I’m just wondering.
Hi Diendi, I’ve not tried using fresh ground coffee for the espresso powder. However, I suspect that if the coffee is ground finely enough it would work. If you try it, please let me know how it worked!
Chula
I am looking at a recipe for flourless chocolate cake, that calls for espresso powder. Since I had never heard of it I googled and here I am. I drink espresso instead of coffee. I use it to make coffee I should say. I feel like if I put it in my vita mix dry container I can make it powder without bothering to dry it out. Gonna try and see.
Hi Hunter! Let me know how it works!
Chula
how do i make coffee from this?
This isn’t designed to use for making coffee, but rather for adding to recipes that call for a small amount of espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor.