19 July, 2018
Affogato
The Affogato is an Italian coffee based dessert, with the standard recipe being a scoop of cold vanilla gelato topped with a shot of hot, dark roast espresso. ‘Affogato’ is Italian for “drowned”, with is apt as you are drowning your ice cream with coffee! This is an effortless recipe, which is simple yet fulfilling!
I’ve enjoyed an Affogato at Castellamare in Mumbles. Here they serve vanilla and salted caramel ice cream with a shot of authentic Italian espresso. Enjoyed with that view! Bellissimo!
I have also seen a number of my favourite local coffee shops offer Affogato in this hot weather! These include Square Peg, where espresso is added to ‘Gwynne’s Ice cream’ and Onboard Surf & Coffee, where they serve espresso with ‘Gower Ice Cream’.
I’ve made it at home a few times and would suggest ‘freezing’ the glass that you are going to serve it in, to prevent the ice cream from melting too quickly!
Variations of the Affogato do exist, for example you could use a flavoured ice cream for contrast or add some roasted nuts or amaretti biscuits to add a little texture. Or if your feeling a bit more adventurous, you could add a shot of Amaretto or Frangelico!