If you only learn one dessert, make it this one. Affogato — Italian for “drowned” — is a scoop of ice cream with hot espresso poured over it. Two minutes, three ingredients, and it looks like you tried much harder than you did. Here is the four o'clock version we make when the afternoon needs slowing down.
What is an affogato?
Traditionally, it is a scoop of vanilla gelato “drowned” in a shot of hot espresso. The hot coffee melts the edges of the ice cream into a warm-and-cold, bitter-and-sweet puddle. It sits somewhere between a dessert and a drink, which is exactly why it works at four in the afternoon.
The Almost Calm version
We balance a brownie cookie on the rim of the glass. As the espresso goes over, the fudgy centre softens and the edge stays chewy, so you get the melt of the ice cream, the bite of the cookie, and the bitterness of the coffee in one spoon.
What you need
- 1 scoop good vanilla ice cream
- 1 shot hot espresso (or 60ml strong coffee)
- 1 fudgy brownie cookie
Method
- Put the scoop of ice cream in a small glass or cup.
- Balance the brownie cookie on the rim, or crumble half of it over the top.
- Pull a hot shot of espresso and pour it over the ice cream at the table — the pouring is half the pleasure.
- Eat immediately, with a spoon, before it all becomes one delicious puddle.
Variations
Swap the espresso for hot masala chai. Add a pinch of flaky salt. Use a scoop of coffee ice cream if you want to double down. There is no wrong version.
Our brownie cookies come in Classic, Eggless, Gluten-Free and Protein+ — fudge centre, cookie edge, made for exactly this kind of small ceremony.