Libertyville’s Carrot Cake Latte
Growing up, my grandma’s kitchen was always full of recipes. Some worn and dog-eared, some barely used (waiting for the right occasion!), but all carefully kept inside a recipe box. I remember flipping through those cards as a kid, imagining what I might make one day. Not too long ago, I revisited my grandma’s recipe box, looking for a recipe to frame in my home, something that captured her love of cooking and the felt sense of community in her kitchen.
There’s something about recipes that feel like an inheritance of sorts. They aren’t just instructions, but tiny windows into how someone lived. My grandma’s recipes were mostly simple, but thoughtful and always meant to be shared. When I began working on the recipe for the Carrot Cake Latte for our Libertyville Café seasonal menu, I kept coming back to that same idea: creating something simple, thoughtful, and worth passing around.
So there I was, in my kitchen, with the contents of my cabinets spilled out, searching for the perfect ingredients to capture the essence of carrot cake. I wasn’t looking to replicate a carrot cake recipe exactly, but rather keeping the recognizable notes that make sense in a latte.
I can solemnly say, this recipe took the most trial and error of any recipe I’ve developed so far. My original iteration used real carrots, steeped in the syrup, and leaned fully into brown sugar, thinking it would bring that deep molasses-like richness you’d expect from carrot cake. It did. But it also overpowered everything else… The carrot got lost completely.
After making a few batches, I settled on using carrot juice in place of water and steeped carrots. This felt more manageable and frankly gave a more potent carrot flavor. Additionally, I decided on splitting the base between brown sugar and cane sugar – a major turning point in my journey! The brown sugar still has to bring its warmth and depth, but the cane sugar lightened the syrup up enough for the carrot to come through. From there, it’s layered with warm spices and vanilla. Lastly, we steep walnuts into the syrup for a rich and nutty component. Simple ingredients, but undeniably flavorful.
Creating this recipe was fun and a great challenge. It included a lot of guesswork (something I imagine my grandma did a lot of in her kitchen!). It’s a small thing, a seasonal drink that will come and go. But there’s something sweet and meaningful in that, isn’t there? The way recipes, like fleeting moments, are meant to be enjoyed while they’re here. Stop by our Libertyville Café and usher in spring with a Carrot Cake Latte. I think it speaks for itself!
Marissa Cummings
On staff at our Libertyville café, Marissa loves befriending customers and making the perfect cup of coffee. When not behind the bar, she is usually exploring new coffee shops, curled up with a good mystery book and a warm miel in hand.