Creme Brulee Latte
"Custard Heaven in a Mug"
Our Creme Brulee Latte at North Coast Café started with a simple idea. What if you could drink your favourite custard dessert out of a warm mug after a windy wander around Lynton?
Instead of stacking syrups, we started with custard. Custard powder whisked into whole milk, sweetened with caramel syrup and a splash of butterscotch, then finished with brown sugar on top. We serve it in a rounded mug that is perfect for cupping your hands around on a cold day.
For custard lovers, it is heaven, a proper hug in a mug. It looks simple on the counter, but it has quietly become one of our most talked about drinks.
Plain, Dirty or Boozy
Every Creme Brulee Latte starts with the same custard base. Then you choose how far you want to take it.
Plain
Just the custard latte in that rounded mug. No coffee, no alcohol.
It is soothing, nostalgic and ideal if you are off caffeine or just want a pudding-like drink in the afternoon.
Dirty
Same base, plus a shot of espresso.
The coffee cuts through the sweetness and adds a gentle bitterness so it drinks like a grown up latte and a dessert at the same time. If you usually order a flat white but fancy a treat, this is the one.
Boozy
For the boozy version we add a shot of brandy or Lynton’s own caramel Scape Goat Rum.
Brandy brings a classic, warming finish. Scape Goat Rum adds extra caramel and a local twist, turning it into an adults-only pudding in a mug. Perfect after food or as a winter warmer when the weather turns grim outside.
Why we created it
We already take our coffee seriously, using Voyager Coffee beans from Devon and keeping the menu focused. We did not want another generic syrup drink. We wanted a different base.
Custard made sense. Familiar, comforting, very North Coast Café. Turn it into a drink, give it just enough sweetness, and you have something that feels like a crème brûlée in a mug, ready for cold coastal days.
After a bit of testing to balance sweetness, thickness and the coffee and booze options, the Creme Brulee Latte went on the menu and never really left. It is very, very popular with both locals and visitors.
How we make it
It’s super simple, and mighty tasty!
Custard powder whisked into whole milk
Caramel syrup and a splash of butterscotch added
Steamed to a silky, latte-like texture
Poured into a rounded mug and finished with brown sugar
Dirty means adding espresso. Boozy means adding brandy or Scape Goat Rum. Plain keeps it pure custard and caramel.
Dunk, Sip, Repeat
The Creme Brulee Latte is excellent on its own, but it is even better with one of our speciality scones.
Break off a piece, dunk it into the custard foam, then bite. Warm custard, caramel sweetness and crumbly scone all in one go. It turns “coffee and a scone” into a full treat, like a cream tea for people who secretly prefer custard to jam.
Custard in a mug.
Simple as that
Next time you are in Lynton, come and warm your hands around a Creme Brulee Latte at North Coast Café and try dunking a scone into it.
