Okay - I cheated. Even though the section in which you found this little piece is entitled "Without Alcohol", the recipe that follows is, indeed, alcoholic. I included it here though because it is, after all, based on coffee. If apologies are necessary, consider them offered. At any rate, the following is Chef Paul Prudhomme's recipe for the world famous delicacy known either as Cafe Diable or Cafe Royal. This version of flaming coffee provides an elegant ending to a meal or any festive event.

1 small orange, studded with 20 whole cloves
10 small cubes of sugar
2 sticks cinnamon (each about 10 cm. long)
the peels of 1 orange and 1 lemon
1 cup of brandy or 1/2 cup Cointreau liqueur, warmed gently
4 cups of freshly made Espresso or filter coffee

Place the orange, sugar cubes, cinnamon and fruit peels in a small, lightly warmed punch bowl. In a small saucepan heat but do not boil 3/4 cup of the brandy or 1/4 cup of the Cointreau, and pour this over the fruit peel. Place the bowl on a tray and bring the bowl, orange and a ladle to the table. Carefully ignite the brandy in the punch bowl and then ladle the mixture over the spices until the sugar dissolves. Add the coffee to the bowl.

Fill the ladle with the remaining brandy or Cointreau, tip the orange into the ladle and flame the liquids. Lower the flaming ladle into the bowl, letting the orange float and then ladle the coffee into demitasse cups. Serve immediately. (Serves 4 - 6).

© Daniel Rogov