Café liégeois facts for kids
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| Alternative names | Café viennois |
|---|---|
| Course | Dessert |
| Main ingredients | Coffee, coffee ice cream, chantilly cream |
| Variations | Chocolat liégeois, with chocolate ice cream |
Café liégeois is a super yummy, cold dessert that comes from Belgium. It's like a special coffee treat! This delicious dessert is made with lightly sweetened coffee, coffee-flavored ice cream, and fluffy chantilly cream.
To make it, a large glass is filled with sweetened coffee and chilled. Just before serving, the ice cream and chantilly cream are added. Often, people sprinkle crushed roasted coffee beans on top. This adds a nice crunch and makes it look extra fancy!
The Story Behind the Name
You might think Café liégeois comes from the city of Liège in Belgium, but it actually doesn't! This dessert was first known in France as café viennois. That means "Viennese coffee," named after Vienna, the capital of Austria.
A Name Change for Heroes
During World War I, a very important battle happened in Liège. The German army expected to quickly pass through the city. But the people of Liège fought bravely and held them back for much longer than expected. This delay gave the French army time to get ready.
To honor the city of Liège for its amazing resistance, cafés in Paris decided to change the dessert's name. Since Austria was an ally of Germany during the war, and Austrian guns were used to shell Liège, it made sense to rename the "Viennese coffee." So, café viennois became café liégeois in Paris.
Even in Liège itself, the dessert was still called café viennois for a while. Today, in places like Swiss French-speaking areas, it's still known as café viennois.
See also
- Ice cream
- Coffee
- In Spanish: Café liégeois para niños
