Affogato – coffee, dessert and your after dinner drink all in one. This is what you get when you tell someone you are "Too full for dessert." There is no work needed here – just pour espresso coffee over vanilla gelato or ice cream, watch the melty irresistible swirls and start eating. The Italians are genius.
Affogato
When was your last affogato? In diners, it is the dessert I look forward to whenever I am served. Although I may well tell her 'I can't, I'm too full' affogato doesn't count because it's almost a liquid does it? In other words it is as if one takes a glass of water! (Yes, really, that's how my mind works – don't judge me!😂)
If you're just joining affogato, it's an Italian specialty involving hot espresso poured over gelato or ice cream with spirits as optional accompaniments. It is like coffee, dessert and an after dinner drink all in one extent. I love coffee that is hot and bitter and ice cream that is cold and creamy – couldn't be better. But that it has become so easy with a bonus, do it yourself entertainment fun factor? Brilliant!
Ingredients in Affogato
The recipe for affogato is simply a teaspoon of hot espresso (coffee), Ice cream or gelato and a half teaspoon for liquor (Frangelico, amaretto rum). A little more information on each of these below!
- Espresso – This is half cup of highly concentrated coffee. For espresso the measure is 30 milliliters or 1 ounce for a standard shot.
- Vanilla gelato or ice cream – This has to be traditional gelato but ice cream is just as tasty if not more to me! More important in the thestry, how ever, is theflavour. It was vanilla because it complements with coffee. Feel free to experiment!
- How much ice cream – A large(ish) scoop or two small(ish) scoops per one shot of coffee to make the combination between the two perfect. That is if using liquor I prefer two middle scoops as depicted in the picture above this text.
- Liquor (optional) – And to take your after dinner drink into this all-in-one dessert, pour a half shot of liquor! There are many types of liquor yogurts, but considered few popular today, such as Amaretto (almond flavour) and frangelico (hazelnut). Rum, sambuca and Kahlua are also typical of Italian restaurants and other readers recommended orange liquors, including Grand Marnier and Cointreau. Honestly speaking, one can even put anything that can perhaps improve the consummation of coffee along this list.
Optional extras
The basic affogato is espresso, gelato and in some cases, alcohol. But even today there are all sorts of optional extras even in restaurants. Well, change to your preference and enjoy affogato in your style! Here are some suggestions:
- Chocolate grated or shaved on the ice cream (I did this).
- Biscotti for dunking (I also did this!) – or Italian Almonds cookies (thanks to the reader who suggested!).
- Whipped cream
- Yogurt – I was put on top of the melted chocolate and then spread across the ice cream
- Opt – crushed or chopped nuts – and given that it is sometime associated with Middle Eastern cuisine pistachio and hazelnuts would be topical here.
Of course, I realized I've got hundreds of other ideas – share them in the comments so I can extend the list later!
How to make affogato
It makes me want to have more recipes with only so few steps!
- Make hot espresso coffee using any of the available coffee making machines in the market. That is measuring thirty milliliters or one ounce for a single shot.
- Pour a scoop or two of ice cream directly in the glass.
- Pour over hot coffee. Or they can be busy watching how the ice cream swirls sink into the hot coffee!
- If using liquor, pour that over the next. Eat!
PS I did the pour shot using a small beaker in order to do a neat pour for the photos. I actually don't use a beaker in real life and not in drawing either.
Serving – for DIY pour
From a practical point of view, as restaurants do, place the glass with just the ice cream in it and the espresso on the side. That way the eater can pour, then dig into the affogato before the ice cream fully melts.
Oh, and a side of biscotti for dunking would not go unaffected either… Recipe coming up soon. Never really satisfied with my biscotti efforts! It requires some effort that I would have to devote to it and right now, the project has my attention.
Share your affogato twists! Are you strictly traditional, basic, drink – coffee or are you vanilla gelato? Or do you care about toppings and what unique ice cream combination you are going to have next? I'll be damned if anyone will ever dictate to me how to consume my affogato – at least not in public anyways.
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small(ish) scoops of vanilla gelato or ice cream (Note 1)
- 1 shot – 30 ml, 1 oz hot espresso coffee (short black) Note 2
- 1 tbsp frangelico, amaretto or any liquor for preference (optional) – Note 3
Instructions
- Place ice cream in a glass more appropriate for affogato consumption (Note 4).
- Put aside the shot of espresso and liquor (if used).
- After that, pour some hot espresso then liquor on top of ice cream. Guzzle coffee with swirls of creamy ice cream into one delightful beverage. Dig in immediately!
Recipe Notes:
- Gelato is conventional, ice cream is completely fine. Vanilla is the most traditional single flavour and is incredible compatible with coffee flavour. Still, don't mind to use any favorite flavour our any flavour of your choice.
- Espresso (short black) – The water must be hot enough to melt the ice cream (turn it into a soup) and must be strong enough to avoid a weak and tasteless soup Müller lens vinegar and ice cream [+]
- Beverages – Kahlua, samba, rum and Bailey's are also liberally available. WORKING with TECHNOLOGY Use what you know works with coffee!
- Glass – Fancy restaurants use shallow cocktail glasses which to me are useless and poontsy, primarily for aesthetic value. The glass should preferably be taller than it is wide, that goes without saying but the more usable width, the better you can dig in good naturedly Try and get one that's not too tall though, I find that eating out of a glass that has been designed for drinking out of is a little awkward.
- Other ultimate add-ons (although not classically common, are no way impossible! 😉
- Biscotti (Perfect for those who love taking their cookies with some tea!)
- Chocolate shavings – to make it you need a microplane or potato peeler
- Whipped cream
- Milk chocolate – on ice cream
- Nuts – pistacchio and hazelnut roughly chopped, on the theme
- Lunch – no one slumps with half eaten melted affogato, right??
Nutrition per serving, based on 1/2 cup of ice cream which, admittedly, may be a bit on the large side.
