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The Coffee 100 · make it at home

Hanoi egg coffee (cà phê trứng), whipped to a custard cap

10 min · 2 small cups

Invented in Hanoi in 1946, when fresh milk was scarce, by the family whose café is still on the chart: strong drip coffee under a warm, whipped yolk-and-condensed-milk cream that tastes like liquid tiramisu.

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The real one

You need

• 2 very fresh egg yolks (pasteurised if you prefer)
• 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) very strong coffee: dark Vietnamese robusta from a phin, or 2 espresso shots
• Hot water and 2 small bowls for a warm water bath

How to make it

1. Brew (5 min): Make the coffee in a phin (see the phin recipe) or pull two shots. Divide between 2 small heatproof cups and stand them in a bowl of hot water to keep warm.
2. Whip (3 to 4 min): In a clean bowl, whisk the yolks, condensed milk and sugar with a hand mixer on high (or a whisk and patience) until pale, thick and doubled, like soft-whipped cream; when you lift the beaters it should fall in a slow ribbon.
3. Top (30 sec): Spoon the egg cream gently over the coffee in each cup, about 2 cm (1 in) deep. It floats.
4. Serve (at once): Dust with a little cocoa or ground coffee if you like and serve in its warm water bath with a small spoon. Eat the cream from the top first, then stir the rest in.

Tips

• Fresher eggs whip higher. Use them at room temperature.
• Iced version: whip the cream the same way and float it over coffee poured on ice.
• Too sweet? Cut the condensed milk to 2 tbsp and add a pinch of salt.

Chef Amazing's own home version, in our words; not any café's recipe.