One of our favorite desserts at the end of a long meal is an affogato. The flavors of the espresso meld perfectly with the vanilla ice cream to create a creamy dessert that’s easy to make, yet impressive nonetheless. Whenever we see it listed on restaurant menus, we feel compelled to order it, but even more often we like to serve it at the end of dinner parties; all you need is great vanilla ice cream and fresh coffee and you have a fantastic dessert without much effort.
The word affogato means “drowned” in Italian, and while traditionally one would drown their gelato in hot espresso, we thought, there must be an adult version that could be even more crave-worthy and delicious than the traditional combination.
One of the other standbys for many people at the end of the meal is Port, that thick, sweet dessert wine that’s perfect for sipping along with a few nice cheeses. Since dairy is already a natural accompaniment to Port, and the wine is thick enough to almost resemble a syrup, we wondered what it might taste like if that shot which was normally in our snifter, was instead poured over creamy vanilla ice cream. The answer is it’s absolutely delicious, and we dare say even better than the affogato original.
After a bit of research on our newly created dessert we learned it’s actually not something we can take credit for creating – it was a dessert standby at classic steakhouses in a by-gone era. After tasting it, we, for one, can’t understand why it ever disappeared, so we’re bringing it back! Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients:
1 Pint Of The Best Vanilla Ice Cream You Can Buy
4 Ounces Of Good Port
4 Bowls
Divide the vanilla ice cream evenly among four bowls. Pour one ounce of port over each bowl of ice cream. Serve with spoons.