Enrich Your Affogato With Coffee Ice Cream
If you’re a coffee lover, dessert drinks are no better than affogato, an Italian caffeinated treat made by pouring a shot of espresso onto a small scoop of ice cream. Cooled sugar and milk reduce the bitterness of the coffee, which in turn melts the ice cream, giving it a silky texture. This is a treat for bean aficionados, but also acceptable for those who may want to avoid stronger beers. Even young children could be tricked into believing that it was made for them (I think if you wanted to cheer them up on stimulants?). But if you really want to take affogato to the next level – what better way than National Coffee Day? – then prepare it with coffee ice cream.
I previously stated that you (almost) can never have too much taste of coffee when it comes to ice cream – up to the point that I sometimes add to your cup uncooked coffee grounds – so it is quite logical that it would be extended on affogato. Of course vanilla works great; it is mostly (a lot) sugar and cream, premixed and ready to eat. But there is no denying the fact that all that creamy consistency will dilute the espresso’s coffee flavor a bit. And I’m all about boosting that coffee flavor.If you can brew an espresso and use a scoop of ice cream, you can make this dessert / totally suitable anytime you want to drink. Add one or two small scoops of coffee ice cream to a mug or highball glass, then top with a shot of strong coffee and garnish with a few chunks of chocolate if desired.
If you don’t have an espresso machine, you can substitute three tablespoons of very strong coffee (whatever comes out of a moka pot will work). Personally, I think this is a good way to improve on the low-quality espresso produced by the Nespresso machine that we inherited from the Brooklyn gift-giving culture. I never prefer coffee pods (you certainly won’t find Nespresso on my list of essential coffee equipment ), but they do get a lot smoother when they melt a generous spoonful of ice cream.