Hello everyone....we are back from Alaska trip and I am very much excited to share our experience and photos with all of you. So while I work on the Alaska post I thought about sharing a simple and super quick recipe for one my favorite Italian dessert /beverage. All you need is an expresso shot and really good vanilla ice cream/gelato. And I am quite sure that you will be having both of these ingredients available in your kitchen right now. If you love coffee and ice cream then you will realize that this combination is a match made is heaven :P!!!
Affogato..... is a super simple, delicious and creamy coffee based Italian dessert. Absolutely perfect for this hot summer season. Affogato is derived from the Italian word "affogare" which means "drowned", is known to be a typical Italian way of enjoying ice cream/gelato. A scoop or two of vanilla or chocolate ice cream/gelato is drowned in a shot or double shot of expresso. The hot expresso slowly melts the ice cream to form a creamy delicious concoction. Yes it is that simple!!! You may replace expresso with strong brewed coffee but using expresso is highly recommended.
Traditionally affogato uses nothing but a shot of good intense expresso with a scoop of gelato but you can tweak it a bit by topping it off with whipped cream, chopped nuts, shaved bitter sweet chocolate or even a dash of alcohol. Nowadays you will find a variety of recipes online other than the traditional one that uses various other flavors of gelato and toppings.
You will need:
2 small scoop of good quality vanilla gelato/ice cream
3 - 4 tbsp or 1 shot of hot expresso
Coffee cup or any serving cup of your choice
Method:
1) Chill the coffee cup in the refrigerator for an hour or so. This way once you pour the hot expresso over the ice cream it won't melt all at once.
2) To the coffee cup/serving cup add two small scoops of really cold gelato or ice cream.
3) Now pour a shot of hot expresso over the gelato. And your very own affogato is ready to be served.
Enjoy as is or top it off with whipped cream, shaved bitter sweet chocolate or your favorite choice of nuts.
