Affogato

EVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY

THEME: FEAR NOT THE BITTER

RECIPE: AFFOGATO 

Affogato looks like a fancy dessert but is so easy to make and delicious. You’ll probably be left craving for some more especially if you’re a coffee lover like me. Affogato is a classy dessert that can easily be served in individual portions during a party. You just need some vanilla ice cream and strong brewed coffee or espresso.

 

Affogato – Italian Dessert

More traditionally known as affogato al caffe, it is a coffee based Italian dessert. Italians prefer to enjoy it as a dessert while many places outside Italy label is as a beverage. Hot espresso or strong brewed coffee is poured over scoops of ice cream. This results in the ice cream melting. Enjoy the dessert with a spoon and also sip it through a straw.

Sometimes, a shot of amaretto, kahlua or any other liqueur is added to the dessert. I added a shot of Baileys Irish Cream and tasted so good.

The name affogato comes from the Italian word ‘affogare’ which means to drown. In affogato, the gelato or ice cream is drowned in espresso.

Italy and Dessert

I tasted this dessert for the first time when we went to Italy in 2014. Yes, seems like a long time ago but some of the memories of this trip are so fresh. Hubby and I enjoyed the dessert in Positano. It was pretty hot and we wanted to try out a cool dessert.

Walk any where in Italy and the delicious different flavoured gelato, the creamy dreamy pastries all call your name out! From cannoli, tiramisu, panna cotta to the crispy crunch melt in the mouth sfogliatelle.

Recipes Using Bitter Ingredients

There are quite a number of naturally bitter food ingredients. We all know that cocoa beans or cacao is bitter. Coffee, fenugreek, bitter melon (karela), green tea, kale, etc.

• Karela Nu Shaak – Gujarati style of making stir fried bitter gourd.
• Using bitter arugula I like to make cherry tomato and avocado salad.
• Chocolate Truffles – I like to use dark chocolate to make the truffles and then roll them in unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Did you know eggplant is classified as bitter? I like to use eggplant to make a roasted eggplant dip.
• Fenugreek leaves too are bitter on their own. But when added with other ingredients you hardly taste the bitterness. Whenever I have fresh fenugreek at hand I like to make bajri na dhebra (fenugreek millet flatbread), methi bateta nu shaak (fenugreek potato vegetable).
• My favorites – Coffee and Walnut Cake and Homemade Cold Coffee

 

A bit about the group:

Every month a new theme is chosen by members. Then the participants are paired up. In turn, they give each other 2 secret ingredients to use in their recipe which is prepared fitting the theme. As soon as their dish is ready, the photo is shared on our Facebook group and other try and guess the secret ingredients. Finally, towards the end of the month the recipe is shared on the group. Furthermore, this way members get to know each other and interact with each other.

This Month’s Theme

For the month of June Seema  who blogs at Mildly Indian suggested the theme Fear Not The Bitter. She wanted us to use any natural bitter ingredient to prepare any dish from soups, condiments, main meal to desserts. What I like about Seema’s blog is she introduces her followers to traditional recipes from Kerala and also she uses some rare ingredients like wattle seed. Every time I get guava, just want to bite into it but Seema sometimes uses it to make a delish chutney or to make a creamy Sago Guava Pudding. Seema used bitter gourd to prepare Karela ka bharta. Now that sure looks so tempting. Go on check out the recipe.

My Partner

My partner this month is Meera who blogs at  Exotic – N – Easy Cooking. I’m going to try out her Pizza Bun recipe, so easy and looks so yummy. While having a conversation with Meera, I mentioned that I’d love to make something with coffee and she suggested I use coffee and water. Meera, wanted to experiment with green tea, so gave her green tea and sugar. With those ingredients she has made Peach Iced Tea using fresh peaches and green tea. No artificial colors or flavors in her recipe, so please do check out the recipe. Makes a perfect refreshing summer time drink.

Ingredients Required For Affagato Recipe:

Vanilla Ice Cream/ Gelato – use good quality ice cream

Coffee – espresso or any kind you prefer. Since I didn’t have espresso, I made a batch of strong coffee for this recipe.

Water – tap water to brew the coffee

Baileys Irish Cream – or any other liqueur. This is optional.

Topping – I have used dark chocolate. Can use crushed biscotti, amaretti cookies, cacao nibs, cocoa powder, etc.

Most recipes call for 1 shot of espresso or strong brewed coffee. 1 shot is about 30-50ml.

Please Note:

Hubby and I love Spring Valley Coffee. Their blends are so aromatic and flavorful.  This is not a paid post.

 

 

 

 

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A little request:

If you do try this recipe then please either

• add a comment below,
• send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
•  tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
• or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962