Baking with Cold Brew: A Baker's Guide to Coffee and Pie Pairing
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Quick Summary
Baking with cold brew changes the way coffee shows up in dessert. It's smoother, less acidic, and brings a naturally sweet depth that espresso can't match. We know this because a local pie baker just proved it — with one of our cold brew cans and a tiramisu pie that sold out in hours.
Maddi of Hex & Crust used Gigawatt's air roasted cold brew to build her Prosperity & Luck Potion Pie — a cold brew tiramisu pie with Irish cream liqueur, ladyfinger crust, and mascarpone filling. It was part of her March 2026 drop on Hotplate, and it disappeared fast.
This post breaks down why cold brew works so well in baking, walks through Maddi's process step by step, and includes a complete coffee and pie pairing guide so you can match the right cup to the right slice — whether you're baking or just eating.
Key Takeaways:
How a Cold Brew Tiramisu Pie Came Together
We first met Maddi at a Soundgrowler Brewing event through the Streetz Artz Alliance. She was selling pies with names like Ambergrove Enchantment (a honey cornbread peach cobbler pie she literally dreamed up in her sleep), and the whole table had this witchy, potion-shop energy that just clicked.
Hex & Crust started before autumn 2025, when Maddi decided it was time to share the pies she'd been perfecting. Apple pie had always been a family tradition — she looked forward to her mom making it every fall. So she took her recipes to Facebook, and the community response was immediate. Monthly pie drops followed, each one a rotation of what Maddi calls "bewitchingly good flavors."
Maddi is also a culinary student and part-time baking instructor at Farmhouse Academy in Crest Hill, IL, where she teaches others to build confidence in the kitchen. Her long-term goal? A Hex & Crust storefront where she can enchant even more people with her flavors.
The Prosperity & Luck Potion Pie
For her March 2026 drop, Maddi wanted to build something around the Irish cream cold brew she loves ordering in spring. The result was a tiramisu pie that uses cold brew twice — once to soak the ladyfinger crust, and again inside the mascarpone filling.
"I wanted to use a cold brew for my tiramisu pie because I love getting Irish Cream Cold Brews in the spring, and thought it'd be a super tasty twist on one of my favorite desserts. It's smoother than a traditional tiramisu since espresso can have a bit of a bite to its taste. And Gigawatt's was perfect since it's air roasted and tastes so good!"
— Maddi, Baker & Founder, Hex & Crust.
Here's how Maddi built it: she crushed ladyfinger cookies (flavorless Italian biscuits) with sugar and butter, formed the crust, and baked it. Before filling, she soaked the crust in cold brew and Irish cream liqueur — just like you'd soak ladyfingers in a classic tiramisu. For the filling, she beat mascarpone until fluffy, folded in powdered sugar, more cold brew, and more Irish cream, then folded in freshly whipped cream. The whole thing gets spread into the crust and dusted with cocoa.
Why Cold Brew Works in Baking (and When to Use It Instead of Espresso)
Most baking with cold brew questions come down to one thing: how is it different from using espresso? The short answer is that cold brew is smoother, less acidic, and more forgiving in recipes where you don't want coffee to overpower everything else.
Traditional tiramisu recipes call for espresso because that's what Italian bakers had on hand. Espresso brings intensity, bitterness, and a sharp coffee punch. Cold brew brings a mellower depth. It still tastes like coffee, but without the bite. That difference matters when the coffee is soaking into a delicate crust or folding into a mascarpone cream.
Any cold brew works here, though our canned cold brew saves you steeping a batch the night before.
Maddi releases her monthly pie lineup 3 days before the 1st at hotplate.com/hexandcrust. Hotplate is a pre-order platform for indie food businesses — you sign up for text notifications, and when a drop goes live, you order before it sells out. Follow @hexandcrust on Instagram for flavor teasers.
Cold Brew vs Espresso in Baking
| Factor | Cold Brew | Espresso |
|---|---|---|
| Flavor profile | Smooth, naturally sweet, chocolatey | Intense, bold, slightly bitter |
| Acidity | Low (up to 67% less than hot-brewed) | Higher — can curdle dairy if added hot |
| Strength | Milder per ounce (use more to compensate) | Concentrated — a little goes far |
| Best for | Soaking, cream fillings, chocolate desserts | Brownies, cakes where bold coffee flavor is the point |
| Temperature | Already cold — bring to room temp for baking | Hot — must cool before adding to batter |
One thing that makes a real difference here: how the coffee was roasted. Air roasting removes chaff — the dry papery skin of the coffee bean — during the roast instead of letting it burn onto the beans. The result is a cleaner, less bitter cold brew to begin with. When that cold brew goes into a baking recipe, the smoothness carries through.
Tips for Baking with Cold Brew at Home
Maddi shared two practical tips that apply to any recipe where you're swapping cold brew for espresso:
These two adjustments are all most recipes need. Maddi's tiramisu pie is a great example — cold brew appears twice (in the crust soak and the filling), so it's doing real structural work in the dessert, not just adding a hint of flavor.
Cold brew concentrate works best for baking because it's stronger per ounce than ready-to-drink cold brew. If you're using a ready-to-drink can (like ours), you may not need to adjust ratios much since the flavor is already balanced. For soaking applications like tiramisu, ready-to-drink cold brew works perfectly as-is.
Cold Brew Tiramisu Pie (Simplified Recipe)
This is a simplified version of Maddi's Prosperity & Luck Potion Pie. The original uses her proprietary ratios, but this adaptation gives you the framework to try it at home with Gigawatt cold brew.
- 24 ladyfinger cookies, finely crushed
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/4 cup cold brew coffee (for soaking)
- 2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur (for soaking)
- 16 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons cold brew coffee
- 2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
- 1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
- Cocoa powder for dusting
The key detail: cold brew appears in both the crust and the filling. That double dose is what gives this pie a coffee flavor that's present throughout, not just on the surface. And because cold brew is less acidic than espresso, the mascarpone stays smooth and silky instead of getting grainy.
Coffee and Pie Pairing Guide
At farmers markets and events across Chicagoland, people always ask us what coffee goes best with dessert. The honest answer: it depends on the pie. Here's how we'd match them up.
| Pie Style | Best Coffee Match | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Apple / fruit pies | Kite & Key Blend | Medium-dark body complements warm spices without overpowering fruit |
| Chocolate pies | Live Wire Espresso Blend | Bold espresso notes echo and intensify the chocolate |
| Cream & custard pies | Luminosity Breakfast Blend | Lighter body and bright notes won't compete with delicate cream |
| Pecan / nut pies | Kite & Key Blend | Toasty, caramel-forward notes mirror the buttery sweetness of pecans |
| Berry pies | Organic Honduran | Blueberry tasting notes create a natural fruit-to-fruit harmony |
| Tiramisu / coffee pies | Gigawatt Cold Brew | Coffee on coffee — smooth cold brew amplifies the pie's flavor without adding bitterness |
We test these pairings constantly at farmers markets. The biggest surprise to people? How well a lighter roast like Luminosity works with dessert. Most folks assume darker = better for sweets, but a cleaner, brighter coffee actually lets the pie's flavor lead instead of competing with it.
The general principle is simple: match the weight of your coffee to the weight of your dessert. Rich, heavy pies can handle bold coffee. Light, creamy pies shine next to something more delicate. And if coffee is already in the pie? Drink more coffee. No one has ever complained about that combination.
Want to test these pairings yourself? Our coffee sampler packs let you try multiple roast levels side by side — grab one and a couple slices and see what clicks.
Try the Cold Brew That Made the Pie
100% Arabica, air roasted, smooth enough to drink straight or bake into your next dessert. Just coffee and water — nothing else.
SHOP COLD BREW
Frequently asked questions
Can you use cold brew instead of espresso in tiramisu?
Yes. Cold brew works as a direct replacement in tiramisu. It produces a smoother, less bitter result because cold brew is naturally lower in acidity than espresso. You may want to use slightly more cold brew than you would espresso since it's milder per ounce. Maddi of Hex & Crust used Gigawatt's air roasted cold brew in her tiramisu pie and described it as "smoother than a traditional tiramisu since espresso can have a bit of a bite."
Does cold brew change the flavor of baked goods?
Cold brew gives baked goods a smoother, more mellow coffee flavor compared to espresso. It brings naturally sweet, chocolatey depth without the sharp bitterness. The lower acidity also means it plays better with dairy-based batters and fillings — less risk of curdling or graininess.
How do you substitute cold brew for espresso in baking?
Two adjustments: First, increase the amount of cold brew compared to what the recipe calls for in espresso, since cold brew is less concentrated. Second, decrease another wet ingredient (like milk or cream) slightly to keep the total moisture balanced. And always bring cold brew to room temperature before adding it to batters that use room-temp butter and eggs.
What coffee goes best with apple pie?
A medium or medium-dark roast pairs best with apple pie. The warm, toasty notes complement cinnamon and baked fruit without overpowering them. We recommend Kite & Key Blend — it's our bestseller and a natural match for fruit-forward pies.
What coffee goes best with chocolate pie?
Bold, dark roast coffee or espresso blends work best with chocolate pie. The intensity of the coffee stands up to the richness of the chocolate and even enhances it. Our Live Wire Espresso Blend is designed for exactly this kind of pairing.
What is Hotplate and how does a food drop work?
Hotplate is a pre-order platform for independent food businesses. Vendors like Hex & Crust create limited-time "drops" — monthly menus where customers order online before a set deadline, then pick up their items locally. It's like a sneaker drop but for pie. You sign up for text alerts and order when the drop goes live. Maddi releases her lineup at hotplate.com/hexandcrust three days before the first of each month.
Does Gigawatt Coffee sell cold brew?
Yes. Our cold brew is air roasted, 100% Arabica, and made with just coffee and water. It's smooth enough to drink straight and works great for baking. You can order it at gigawattcoffeeroasters.com
What is air roasted cold brew?
Air roasted cold brew is made from beans roasted using a fluid bed air roaster instead of a traditional drum roaster. The air roasting process removes chaff (the papery outer skin of the coffee bean) during roasting instead of burning it onto the beans. The result is a cleaner, smoother cold brew with less bitterness. Only a small fraction of coffee roasters worldwide — estimated at around 1% — use this method.
This post kicked off something we've wanted to do for a while: spotlight the makers we meet at events and markets across Chicagoland. Maddi and Hex & Crust are the first. There will be more.
If you want to try baking with cold brew, grab a can of ours and start with that tiramisu pie recipe above. And if you want to taste the pies themselves, follow @hexandcrust and sign up for Maddi's next Hotplate drop.
Stay Caffeinated! — Jen & Eli, Gigawatt Coffee Roasters
WHY COFFEE TASTES BITTER →
WHY COFFEE TASTES BITTER →
