What better occasion to get back into the blogging spirit than Valentine’s Day! Kitchenware Direct has kindly sent me some more products to review and I decided to do a Valentine’s Day theme. On the menu is 2 Bodum Pavina double-wall glasses full of Belgian hot chocolate and topped with frothy milk straight from the Bodum Latte Milk Frother. Hanging on one of the glasses is a pure chocolate heart covered in mini heart sprinkles; this was made by using Baker’s Secret set of hanging cookie cutters (these are so neat!). And to feature, again, these really gorgeous double-wall glasses, I filled one up with sugar and mini heart sprinkles to hold some homemade Tim Tam truffle cupcake pops.

I’ll start off with the Baker’s Secret hanging cookie cutters. I really love these, it’s such a clever idea. Of course, you could bake cookies to hang on your coffee mug, but if you’re having hot chocolate you should have a block of chocolate hanging off your mug, right? This is what I really wanted to do with the hanging cookie cutters. I used the heart one (included in the 4-piece set is a flower, a star and a butterfly) for this particular purpose. I’ve never used a cookie cutter as a chocolate mold before, but yes, it can be done.


I made David Lebovitz’s Belgian hot chocolate recipe to break in my glasses. But I’ve also made lattes (in the right-hand side picture below) using the Bodum Latte Milk Frother…


Finally, the Bodum Latte Milk Frother. I don’t own a coffee machine. My preferred way of making coffee is in a coffee press, but I don’t have any way to froth the milk. I’ve used milk frothers in the past and have generally been disappointed with all of them – the froth will start out lovely, but within minutes, it just disappears. Not like the coffee you get at the coffee shop, where the froth stays until you’ve finished the coffee and then you have to use a spoon to gather it up! I had high hopes for the Bodum frother, but alas, its froth also disappears within minutes. Tell me, am I really doing something tragically wrong when I froth milk? Or do I actually need a fancy coffee machine with one of these milk steaming attachment things to get the kind of froth I desire?
That said, however, the Bodum milk frother does froth milk really, really well. You need 4 AA batteries to operate it (which is a bit much for a milk frother, don’t you think?). The instructions say to froth the milk for about 2 minutes for best results, which means you have to hold down the red button on top of the frother for 2 minutes. This button is hard to hold down for 2 minutes – you have to push really hard! When the frothing is done, you can remove the lid and place the glass beaker in the microwave to heat the milk up before adding it to your coffee.
Tip – cold, semi-skim milk froths best! No matter what kind of frother you’re using – hand-operated, a wand or one of these Bodum ones. Even if you’re not using semi-skim milk, do make sure it’s refrigerator cold for best results.
To show you how the Bodum Latte Milk Frother works, I thought it would be best to show you a video. The video is silent (otherwise you’d hear my 2-year-old screaming about something or other in the background) and I didn’t add music in case I annoyed anyone with my music selections. So don’t worry if you don’t hear sound – there is none!
That’s the first video I’ve ever posted on my blog, hooray!
In closing, about the milk frother, I’d say that while I will continue to use it, I probably wouldn’t recommend it, especially if you’re after the type of milk froth you’d get at a real coffee shop.
The Bodum Pavina glasses? They are awesome and I’d totally recommend them to anyone, as well as the Baker’s Secret hanging cookie cutters. Imagine what else you could do with the cookie cutters besides using them as cookie cutters – use them as a chocolate mold for hanging on hot chocolate mugs, or cut out some fruit to hang on your iced tea or lemonade.
Finally, for that Eton mess recipe. You’re going to love this, especially if you love ease, simplicity and deliciousness!
This review is made possible by Brad from Kitcheware Direct.
- 300ml thickened cream
- 2 teaspoons icing sugar mixture
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 100g petite vanilla meringues, crushed (store-bought is easiest)
- 1 cup drained pitted morello cherries, halved
- —or 2-3 mangoes, peeled and sliced (you can also use tinned mangoes)
- Flaked almonds, toasted
- Using an electric mixer, beat cream, sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.
- Layer cream, meringues and some cherries, or mangoes, in serving glasses. Top with a dollop of cream and a few flaked almonds. Serve immediately.
I have been told that you need to use full cream milk to get good froth
There is contradicting advice all over the internets. I have used both low-fat and whole milk with the Bodum milk frother and haven’t noticed a difference! The only for-certain thing is that has to be cold.
Forgot to mention, the instructions for the frother say that semi-skim milk works best.
Oooooo I’ve actually been looking for some of those double walled glasses everywhere! They’re so… um… graceful I suppose. Very pretty. 🙂 I wonder if I could order from them in the US though?
And you have beautiful pictures! I wish I had your talent hehe. 🙂 They all look very bright and airy. And as for the video wonderfully done and I lovvvvved when you turned the glass for its “beauty shot” at the end! Hehe it made me giggle. 😀
And finally, the skimmed milk debate. I, unfortunately, am quite addicted to coffee and know that skimmed milk does indeed froth better than any other milk. I can’t remember where I heard or read this but I confirmed it online here:
http://coffeegeek.com/guides/frothingguide/milk
“Increases in fat content also cause a decrease in foam volume as well, up to a level of approximately 5% fat. Therefore skim milk offers the potential for the greatest volume of foam and most stable foam. This potential decreases gradually through 2% milk down to whole milk – it has the lowest potential to create heaps of foam but to create heaps of stable foam. Get it? Whole milk, while “foamable”, is more difficult than skim milk. Here’s where it gets weird again – go higher in fat than that 4% whole milk, (eg, beyond a fat content of 5%), and you once again see a steady increase in both foam volume and stability. There’s a reason why whipping cream is 35% fat content :)”
I had no idea coffee could be so scientific!! But you and your frother are right Jamieanne. And the last part is why whipping cream whips Mel. 🙂
I’ll definitely be stopping by your lovely blog again! I dunno why I haven’t come across it yet. 😮
xoxo
– Eve
Bodum or not but I adore a good Eton Mess, ever since my neighbour, when I lived in Nottingham, force fed me some at a football party in 2010. I wasn’t keen on all that cream but I fell in love with it almost immediately!
So sweet. I love the look of these Bodum glasses and especially love the fact that they are double walled – it makes drinking hot beverages so much more enjoyable. Love the heart cookie cutter too, I need one to hook onto my coffee 🙂