Affogato Coffee

End a special meal on a sweet note with affogato coffee, an elegant two-ingredient treat that proves dessert doesn’t need to be complicated to be amazing. It’s just hot coffee poured over cold ice cream!

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This Affogato Recipe Is The Easiest Dessert Ever

Affogatto is the Italian word for “drowned,” and the most traditional version is a scoop of vanilla ice cream or gelato with hot espresso poured over it.

We’re hoping more restaurants and coffee shops will take notice of how amazing affogato is (and soon!), so it starts to become more widely offered in our area. Right now, it’s a pretty rare (and exciting) find this Italian dessert on a restaurant menu.

Since we so rarely find it at restaurants, we figured the best thing to do would be to just take matters into our own hands and make a version at home.

After all, it’s just two simple ingredients. We don’t need a restaurant to make this affogato recipe for us!

Affogato Recipe Ingredients

A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.

• espresso or coffee – espresso is best. If you don’t have an espresso machine, a stovetop moka pot or a Nespresso works beautifully. In a pinch, strong brewed coffee will do, but try to use the richest, boldest roast you have.
• ice cream or gelato – vanilla is classic, but you can experiment with other options! More on this below.

What Ice Cream Should I Use For Affogato?

If you have homemade vanilla ice cream, that would be the gold standard, in our opinion. But how often do we have that in the freezer? Next to never, especially if it’s not July.

The next best thing is a really high quality store bought vanilla ice cream (preferably with vanilla beans for rich flavor) or gelato (we like Talenti brand). Or, if you want to use chocolate ice cream, go right ahead!

Sometimes we’ll sneak an extra layer of coffee flavor into an affogato coffee and use coffee ice cream! Sure, we’ll be bouncing off the walls for the next few hours due to caffeine intake, but it’s so delicious that it’s worth it.

How To Make This Ice Cream Coffee Drink

1. PREP. Brew some espresso or a pot of very strong coffee. Place a scoop of gelato or ice cream in a small bowl or mug for each serving.

2. POUR. Pout the espresso over the ice cream and serve.

Is Coffee With Ice Cream A Drink Or Dessert?

According to Wikipedia, restaurants and cafes in Italy typically categorize affogato as a dessert, while some restaurants and cafes outside of Italy categorize it as a beverage.

Here in the Midwest, it’s usually on the dessert menu. And we prefer to have it after our meal, as a dessert.

How To Serve This Coffee And Ice Cream Drink

The most important thing to remember about affogato is that it needs to be served IMMEDIATELY after the coffee is poured over the ice cream, because the ice cream is going to melt fast!

Make sure you and anybody you are serving are ready to eat it the moment that the coffee is poured.

Beyond that, affogato is a versatile dessert that can be enjoyed almost anytime:

• AFTER A MEAL – it makes for the perfect sweet treat to conclude a meal.
• AFTERNOON PICK-ME-UP – a few sips gives you a little energy boost to get through the rest of the afternoon.
• SUMMER REFRESHER – on a hot summer day, affogato is a cooling and indulgent treat.
• ANYTIME YOU CRAVE IT – there’s really no wrong time to enjoy an affogato, so savor it when the mood strikes!

If you’re looking to enhance your affogato experience, consider serving it with biscotti or other crunchy cookies, or a small piece of dark chocolate on the side.

Affogato Recipe FAQs