If I turned my house into a coffee shop for the day, these are the specialty lattes and pastries I'd serve at my brunch.
While many people would say, “What is brunch without a mimosa?” I say, “What is brunch without a latte?” Mornings are just not the same without a fun, caffeinated drink within reach. When I’m not out supporting local coffee shops, I’m always whipping up new flavored simple syrups at home. So when I heard about the trend of hosting an at-home coffee shop brunch, I was all over it.
I sprang into action, planning my menu with one hot and one cold flavored latte, plus a few pastries to create a makeshift bakery-style display case. (Pro tip: If you have a cake stand with a glass cover, use it as your “pastry case.”) Plastic cups for iced drinks and to-go cups for hot ones really sell the coffee shop feel, too.
If you have time, print and frame a menu for your guests to peruse so they can order from you (the barista) just like they would at their local cafe.
Banana Bread Latte
As someone who buys lattes more often than she should, I’ve noticed that many local coffee shops serve banana-inspired drinks (like Dunkin’s banana pudding latte). I love getting in on the latest food trends, so serving a banana bread latte at home just makes sense.
Prep for “orders” by making the banana syrup the night before. The morning of your pop-up coffee shop, put the cold foam ingredients into a jar before your guests arrive, and froth it when you’re ready to serve the cold drink.
Copycat Starbucks Pistachio Latte
Pistachio is another hot ingredient right now. This copycat Starbucks pistachio latte is nutty and sweet (but not too sweet), thanks to a homemade salted browned butter syrup.
Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake
When you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll ask for a glass of milk. In the same way, when you serve a friend a coffee, they’ll probably ask for some coffee cake! This strawberry-rhubarb version is one of my favorite coffee cake recipes of all time. I’d recommend preparing it the morning of your brunch, as coffee cake can dry out if it sits in the fridge for too long. It’s absolutely divine right out of the oven, and the filling is so good I could eat it with a spoon.
Chocolate Scones
As someone who can never get enough chocolate, I love to serve chocolate for breakfast whenever I can. I recognize that not everyone loves it, so I always balance it out with something fruity (hence the strawberry-rhubarb coffee cake accompaniment). You can prep these scones the day before your event, so you won’t need to wake up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the gathering.
Perfect Bite Fruit Salad
I eat fruit every morning, so it’s only natural to include it on my brunch menu. Regular fruit salad can be kind of boring, so I like cutting the fruit in interesting ways to make the dish feel new and exciting. In this version, uniformly cut pieces ensure each bite includes a mix of everything, hence the recipe’s clever name. To capture the coffee shop vibe, try serving individual portions in plastic parfait cups to make it seem like they were meant for on-the-go enjoyment.
