What is affogato, you ask? It is an Italian dessert that doubles as the easiest way to serve something quick and sweet when entertaining! Affogato combines strong coffee with a scoop of gelato or ice cream. Sounds crazy, right? Mixing something so hot, with something so cold? I’m with you! Trust me, I first heard about affogato from Giada Di Laurentiis, my culinary hero, years ago. It took me a long time to even try it. However, I would like to sway you into trying a coffee recipe that will also be your savior as a fun and quick dessert for your next get-together.
The First Time I Tried Affogato
I finally decided to try affogato on a whim while my family was on a day trip to Greenport, Long Island. Greenport is a beautiful seaside town with lots of cute shops. I was walking down the street with my two little guys and my husband when I saw a gelato and coffee shop. My son, Gavin, wanted gelato and Mama needed a coffee, so the two of us walked into an Italian dessert lover’s dream. When I saw the affogato on the menu, I just decided right then and there that I would try it. I chose chocolate chip gelato (stracciatella) and the woman took a nice heaping scoop, put it into a beautiful, clear coffee mug, and poured hot espresso right over it. To my surprise, the gelato didn’t melt completely right away. My son and I sat outside and I took my first bite. It was dreamy. Hot and cold sensations; bitter and sweet tastes. Once you eat the ice cream, you are left with perfectly sweet (but not too sweet!) coffee. It’s funny how I can remember everything about the moment with just one bite. I realized right then and there that this coffee recipe would be my go-to for a serving up a quick dessert to family and friends…no baking!
Entertaining the Masses…Why a Quick Dessert is Your Best Friend
I have learned some valuable lessons over the years about entertaining. I am only 36 years old, but I entertain so frequently that I’ve built up a lot of experience in a short amount of time! In any situation, you should be making 2 or 3 dishes and buying or assembling the rest (taught by the great Ina Garten). Thinking of a typical easy menu, maybe you assemble a charcuterie board as an appetizer and make a roast chicken with mashed potatoes and a simple vegetable side dish for dinner. Now, what are you going to do for dessert? In all of that time spent on getting dinner prepared, did you really have time to start baking? Since people look forward to something sweet to end an amazing meal, the dessert can end up being daunting. I don’t know about you, but it’s also usually the last thing I think about. So, having an arsenal of quick desserts is a lifesaver (especially when one of those is a coffee recipe!). Putting together a quick dessert is key for you to be able to sit down and relax with your guests. Being able to combine the coffee/dessert process is just icing on the cake! Also, people love a good Italian dessert. I like to serve affogato with a biscotti on the side. It always looks so elegant and you can see the excitement when someone is about to try something new, yet the ingredients are familiar. Now, in their own story of how your guest fell in love with affogato, they will recount how you made this delicious Italian dessert and will remember being at your dining room table or in your backyard experiencing the same sensations as I did. It is quite magical.
Coming Up with Your Own Coffee Recipe
The fun part about this dessert is that there are no rules outside of coffee and ice cream. You choose the flavors of the ice cream and the type of coffee you want! At this point, I have tried many different combinations of coffee and ice cream. While traditional espresso and gelato are delicious, I most frequently use strong Keurig coffee and a big ol’ scoop of Friendly’s Ice Cream and the results are just as good. My suggestions are to use strong coffee (Starbucks Sumatra is a great example) and scoop the ice cream as soon as it comes out of the freezer. So, brew all the coffee first, then start scooping the ice cream into the glasses. I will give you two versions of affogato: one with easily accessible ingredients and one with traditional ingredients in case you have access to an espresso machine. This coffee recipe will change the way you look at dessert! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Easy Affogato
(Serves 4)
3 Keurig pods of strong coffee, such as Starbucks or Café Bustello
4 large scoops of ice cream of your choice (I suggest something with vanilla as a base, such as chocolate chip or French vanilla)
4 store-bought biscotti cookies (optional)
Instructions:
Brew the coffee and put into a pitcher for easy pouring. Put a large scoop of ice cream into each mug. The ice cream should come halfway up the mug. Then pour the coffee over the ice cream. Serve immediately with a spoon and a biscotti cookie, if desired (not necessary, but nice for people that like cookies with their coffee). Enjoy!
Traditional Affogato
(Serves 4)
A pot of brewed espresso (if you have a one cup brewer as I do, you will need about 8 small cups of espresso, possibly 10 depending on how big your mugs are)
4 large scoops of gelato of your choice, I like Talenti the best (I suggest something with vanilla as a base, such as chocolate chip)
4 store-bought biscotti cookie (optional)
Instructions:
Brew the espresso and put into a pitcher for easy pouring. Put a large scoop of gelato into each mug (it should come halfway up the mug) and pour the espresso over the ice cream. Serve immediately with a spoon and a biscotti cookie, if desired (not necessary, but nice for people that like cookies with their coffee). Enjoy!
Do you have an easy dessert recipe that everyone loves? Please share it on our Facebook page or post it in the comments below!
