Perk Up Your Iced Coffee With These 5-Layer Mocha Cubes

Chocolate milk cold brew? Yes, please!

I love an iced coffee in the afternoon, especially in summer — and I make it even more of a treat with my five-layer ice cubes. With ribbons of coffee, milk and chocolate milk, they're such a pretty pick-me-up!

Iced-Coffee Cubes

Makes about 12

  • 3 cups black coffee, cold
  • 3 cups whole milk or half-and-half
  • ½ cup chocolate milk

1. Fill large, square ice-cube molds, such as Tovolo's King Cube tray ($9, amazon.com), with a thin layer of coffee and freeze. Once this first layer has frozen (about two hours), add a layer of milk or half-and-half and freeze. Then, add a thin layer of chocolate milk and freeze. Repeat the process with milk and a final layer of coffee, filling to the top.

2. To make the drink shown, pour chilled coffee and milk over the ice cubes — you can also add some Kahlúa or Baileys — and the cubes will melt into the most delicious iced coffee ever! Take it to the next level by keeping some sweetened condensed milk in a squeeze bottle and adding as much as you like (it's divine in my morning hot coffee, too!).

This story originally appeared in the June 2017 issue of House Beautiful.

The Lowdown on Java

Good Morning readers! Depending on where you are, you may just be waking up. For that perfect pick me up, here are my tricks for the perfect cup of coffee.  To capture the intensity of coffee beans in a cup, I prefer to use a French press. I use the large 16oz one.

1. Start with freshly ground beans, 3 tablespoons per cup of coffee.

2. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Let it cool for 40 seconds.

3. Add the water to the press and fill three-quarters full. Quickly stir the grounds with a long spoon. Fit the top just over the top of the press and let the coffee steep for 2-3 minutes.

4. Gently press the filter top and plunge it down, then pour.

**TIP: DON'T TOSS THE GROUNDS! Tune in later for one of my endless uses for old coffee grounds!