Winter Warmer Winner: Speculatte aka Speculoos Cafe Latte Drink!

Dear Reader, I've come across my new favourite drink! The speculatte is a divine mixture of speculoos cookies and a cafe latte! Move over chai latte because this is the spectacular cousin of chai latte and the thing that will keep you warm during winter! And if you enjoy chai latte then this is definitely a pushy recipe!

I first tried this drink at a cafe in the Blue Mountains called Kickaboom. As soon as I took a sip I fell head over heels in love with it. I adore spices and can't imagine cooking without the additional flavours and aromas of spices. And Dutch speculoos spices are very similar to chai latte spices. I asked the owner Dylan in the cafe how they made their speculatte and he answered by grinding actual speculoos cookies and mixing them with brown sugar and water.

And one afternoon when I was feeling particularly lethargic and chilly I decided to try my hand at making a speculatte. I mixed up a little slurry and then added it to a shot of espresso and topped it with milk. I was delighted that it tasted just like the speculatte and I now have a newfound addiction! Dylan explained that they serve them with or without coffee so if you're not a coffee drinker you can make this with tea or just with milk.

I'm a very obsessive and addictive person when it comes to things or people and when I like something or someone, I reaaallly like them. Luckily I stay away from hard drugs preferring softer drugs like cake, pastries and tea. My obsession with tea or specifically chai lattes became a bit of a running joke lately when I went away to do a story on regional NSW. Wherever I was, there would be a chai latte not too far from my reach because it was so chilly.

Admittedly I am a bit of a strange tea drinker. I would collect chai lattes to take away with me from every place that we had breakfast. Soon I found myself with a little collection in the car. I would then stash them in the fridge and then heat them up in the morning and drink one before exercising-it was my little treat before my punishment!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you have an obsessive personality? What or who are you currently obsessed with? Do you drink tea or coffee in an odd way?

Speculatte - Speculoos Cafe Latte Drink!

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Makes enough for 4 cups of speculatte

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 speculoos or biscoff cookies (93g)
• 4 shots of espresso
• Steamed milk to top up
• Whipped cream and 1 extra speculoos biscuit crumbled to sprinkle on top

Step 1 - Blend the cookies until very fine in texture. Heat the sugar and water until boiling and then simmer for a minute. Add the ground up cookies and stir to thicken.

Step 2 - Add one shot of espresso to each cup. Stir in 2-3 tablespoons of speculoos mixture and stir to dissolve. Top with steamed milk. Add whipped cream and crumbled cookies.