Cooking with Xianyitang dried ingredients
Cooked pumpkin purée gives this hot latte a mellow sweetness, with cinnamon gently infused into milk before meeting the espresso. A light layer of froth makes a cosy pair of drinks for an autumn afternoon.
Times, quantities and yields are adaptation estimates. Check the soaking, cooking and texture cues in the steps; passive waits are listed separately.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Use 40 g smooth, unsweetened, fully cooked pumpkin purée. To make your own, peel and deseed pumpkin, cut into small pieces and steam for about 15–25 minutes until it crushes easily with a fork, then mash finely. Drain obvious excess liquid through a fine sieve if watery and weigh out 40 g. Allow about 30–45 minutes extra including preparation and cooling. Do not blend raw pumpkin into the latte. Warm two heatproof mugs with a capacity of about 350 ml each.
Choose one form, not both: put 0.5 g cinnamon shreds in a securely closed fine food-grade cooking spice bag, or weigh a 1 g bark piece large enough to retrieve with tongs. Put the chosen cinnamon and 500 ml milk in a small saucepan. Heat gently, stirring occasionally, until steaming, then keep over a very low heat without a rolling boil. Start with about 5–8 minutes of infusion for shreds or 10–15 minutes for the bark piece, taking care not to scorch the bottom. These are estimated starting points, not an exact flavour-equivalence conversion; adjust the time slightly for the actual aroma.
Lift out the complete spice bag or bark piece. Check that the bag is intact and no hard fragments remain in the milk; strain through a fine sieve if needed. Do not leave bark in the cups to chew. Whisk the 40 g pumpkin purée with 60 ml fresh coffee, the ginger, nutmeg and your chosen sugar in a heatproof jug. Whisk in about 100 ml of the infused milk first to loosen the purée.
Return the pumpkin-coffee mixture to the saucepan with the remaining milk. Stir over a low heat until steaming throughout without boiling hard. Remove from the heat and whisk briskly for a little froth, or follow the instructions for a handheld milk frother, keeping its head submerged to prevent hot splashes. Divide between the mugs with a thin layer of froth. Let cool to a comfortable drinking temperature.
Contains milk. If using a plant drink, check its label for soya, nuts or cereals containing gluten and any other allergens. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Best made fresh. Follow the milk label for refrigeration, use-by date and storage after opening, and follow the purée label for any unused portion. If keeping the finished drink, cool promptly in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours at 5°C or below. Use within 48 hours and before the shortest applicable ingredient use-by limit. Reheat only once until steaming throughout. Froth will fade and the pumpkin may settle, so stir before drinking.
