Affogato

Depending on the ratio of ice cream to coffee, this delicious creation appears on either coffee or dessert menus in cafés and Italian restaurants everywhere. Affogato means ‘drowned’ in Italian, and in it’s simplest form it hardly needs a recipe: just ‘drown’ a scoop of ice cream in a shot of espresso. But I like to add a twist learned from Lucio Galletto of Lucio’s Italian Restaurant in Paddington, who adds a crumbled amaretti biscuit to make the best affogato I’ve ever had (my favourite amaretti are Lazzaroni Amaretti di Saronno). This recipe serves one and is an ideal pick-me-up when you’re on your own, but it’s also a really easy dinner party dessert. I put glasses of ice cream and shot glasses of liqueur on a tray in the freezer well ahead of time, then just make espresso at the last minute and bring it all to the table. I prefer vanilla ice cream, but use any flavour you like and also any liqueur. See the video below for another of Lucio’s favourite nutty sweet treats. 

Serves 1