Affogato

Posted by Norm
June 14, 2010

I only recently heard about the affogato, which as exotic as the Italian name sounds, can be a very accessible and easy dessert to make. Or if you’re someone like me, as a mid-day defense against the heat and humidity that is dropping DC to its knees.

Affogato means ‘drowned’ in Italian, and is simply a scoop of ice cream or some sort of ice cream variant, topped with a shot of espresso. I took this along the paleo route, using the coconut milk based ice cream I stock my freezer with. It’s questionable just how ‘paleo’ this ice cream can be when it’s still using organic agave nectar, but it’s far better than the type made with your typical milk and sugar.


I’ve also seen recipes calling for espresso powder, which certainly work in a pinch.  But I think every home that has a coffee drinker should have their own Bialetti espresso maker.  Make sure you spring for the stainless steel version and not the traditional aluminum ones.

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Take your Bialetti Espresso maker apart, and fill the bottom chamber with filtered water, but just below the hole in the side.  You don’t need to completely fill this chamber with water.
  2. Place the espresso in the funnel filter that tops the bottom chamber.  The espresso doesn’t need to be hard packed in, but it should be completely full.

  3. Screw up on the top, and place your espresso maker on a stove.  Turn on to medium high heat, and let your Bialetti do what it does best.  Makin’ coffee espresso.  You’ll hear it steam and bubble into the top container.  Once you no longer hear it steaming, it’s probably done.  I’d guess this takes anywhere between 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your Bialetti.

  4. Prepare a small espresso cup, and place a medium sized scoop of ice cream in the cup.  I used my coconut milk ice cream here.

  5. Pour in a shot of espresso over your ice cream.

  6. Stir if you’d like, and enjoy.

The one downside of using the coconut milk based ice cream is that you’ll often have coconut shreds inside, so be prepared to find that in your espresso, as well, but this doesn’t end up bothering me too much.  If it does, I believe that the other flavors of coconut milk based ice cream don’t have the same coconut shreds, and will likely give you a smoother result.  Either way, this is a perfect rescue from those hot summer days in the city. Really try and use fresh ground espresso beans or ones you’ve had stored in an airtight container, and filtered water when preparing espresso. As with so many things we consume, it’s the attention to quality that really makes things better.

Recipes

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