One of my most favourite desserts in the whole world is Affogato. OK, I think it is THE favourite dessert in my book.  Firstly, it is a great accompaniment with Napoleon Style Pizza, the whole reason for creating this blog.  Secondly, it is so easy to make and can be enjoyed all year round.

What is this dessert miracle I speak of?  This is an Italian dessert that literally translated means drowned.  The recipe is so simple but the impact is phenomenal. If I hadn’t just treated myself to one just now, I would be drooling just thinking about it. Never mind, I’m still drooling and I might have a second one.

At it’s simplest and in my opinion at it’s best, Affogato is made with a scoop or two of fresh, creamy, vanilla gelato in a small glass ‘drowning’ in a shot of the smoothest, freshest, most aromatic espresso you can find. Essentially, the gelato is ‘drowned’in espresso.  It is often served with a biscotti on the side or if they are getting a bit fancy with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

You can easily make this at home without traveling to Italia or going out to a fancy restaurant.  Yes, a good quality gelato is best but you can get away with using your favourite store bough vanilla gelato, ice cream or even frozen yogurt. Some Italians may consider this blasphemous but it still tastes good.  Then you pour one shot of espresso over top of the gelato, ice cream or frozen yogurt.  I use the stove top espresso maker to make mine. This is also nothing that says you can’t make it a double shot either.

Cheat Tip:     I should probably refrain from admitting this but I often use the extra espresso I have left over from making my morning cup to make this dessert. The way I see it is that the dessert is cold and it does not require the espresso to be hot even though it is recommended to make it with fresh, hot espresso.  Of course, never under any circumstances, serve this dessert to a guest with your old morning espresso.  This Cheat Tip is for indulging by yourself only. I just don’t like to be wasteful and often find ways to use my left over cold espresso. If you have any other ways that you use your cold espresso, please feel free to share below in the comments.

Boun Appetito!