Affogato

Affogato. It’s not something I’ve thought about much until recently, however I was pointed in the direction of this coffee treat.  I don’t even drink coffee!

When a relative in Australia shared a link to an instructional video by Darren Purchese on how to make a “carmelito affogato” I was hooked.  If I ever make it to Australia I will be banging down the shop door but in the meantime I just had to try affogato myself.

There is a distant connection between my family and this very talented pastry chef who has featured as a judge and mentor more than once in Australian Masterchef.  Incidentally the applications for the Irish Masterchef have just opened. I’m a HUGE fan of the series, no matter where it is recorded and himself is already moaning that I’ll be cramming up the box with my recordings.  Anyway if you’re interested in applying you can do so here.  The expiry date is 22nd July next so you barely have 3 weeks and if you do, best of luck!

Not having a coffee machine, means I can’t make espresso without a lot of fuss. I did manage to pick up a coffee jug on sale last week though!

Making the treat is relatively easy and if you intend to make it for a few people just follow my simple steps.

1. About 6 hours before serving take your ice cream of choice out of the freezer. Leave it to warm up a bit for 20 minutes or so, then scoop into individual portions and lay each in a large freezer-proof box. Cover and return to the freezer.
2. Forget about your dessert until you’ve cleaned up after the main course.
3. Brew a large pot of coffee.
4. Put a chilled glass in front of each person, then place a scoop of the ice cream in each glass.
5. Pour a shot of Baileys on top of the ice cream.
6. Top with strong coffee.
7. Eat straight away!

Today I used a very popular brand vanilla ice cream with biscuit chunks inside. It worked extremely well.  If you don’t like coffee at all, consider topping with hot chocolate instead.