Ahhh, Italy! Bellissimo! Many of Kyle’s recipes are inspired by his travels; this recipe is another inspiration from his recent trip to Italy. La Casa Del Caffè Tazza D’oro, a coffee shop within spitting distance of the Pantheon, happens to be famous for more that just a cup of Joe. Their granita di expresso con panna attracts an equally large crowd that can sometimes rival orders for their more traditional hot coffee beverages. What is a granita? It is a refreshing shaved ice treat that can be flavored with almost anything – at La Casa Del Caffè Tazza D’oro, their granita consists of shaved coffee ice layered with slightly sweetened whipped cream.
This granita con panna embodies the essence of many traditional Italian foods – simple, thoughtfully prepared components and flavors, crafted together to create a final dish that is so much greater than the sum of its parts. The expresso granita’s powerful, bitter notes complement the faint sweetness of the cream to fashion a dessert that us refreshing, yet rich, without being too sugary.
Winter (finally) seems to be behind us. The warmer weather is calling us out to our porches, decks, balconies, or in my case, the stoop. No matter your locale, being outside allows one to relax and relish in sweet and simple treats like the granita.
The preparation for this difficult part will be waiting the 2-3 hours for the granita to set up in the freezer. The dish itself contains only three ingredients: coffee/expresso, whipping cream and sugar. Kyle used a batch of cold brew he had on hand. It was potent and already cold, assisting in greatly speeding up the freezing process. However, feel free to use your favorite batch of coffee or expresso. I, myself, had to use decaffeinated coffee (the horror, I know, but, digestively, a necessary evil for me). I used dark roast, it worked splendidly!
To begin preparations for your granita, throw the coffee in a freezer proof dish and pop it in the freezer. Every half hour or so, stir the coffee with a fork to break up the ice crystals that may be forming. In a few hours you will have a delectable coffee slush.
While the granita sets, whip the cream with a bit of sugar. Layer the granita and whipped cream for a refreshing afternoon treat that will pack a serious caffeine punch (unless you are me, then it is refreshing, yet no caffeine surge). Kyle, of course, serves the granita in a quaint fashion in coffee mugs.
Now, you can make additions to this dish by adding some caramel or chocolate sauce, creating a granita’d version of your favorite latte. Another idea? Go ahead and spike it with some booze (Irish Coffee Granita, anyone? Um, yes please!). However, before making these delicious additions to the granita everyone should first try the dish in its simple, unadulterated glory.
- 1 ½ cups espresso or strongly brewed coffee, chilled
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Place coffee in a shallow pan and freeze for 1 hour. Stir with a fork then return to the freezer. Freeze for another 2 hours, until the coffee is firm. Scrape with a fork, breaking up the frozen coffee into icy flakes.
- While the coffee freezes, whip the sugar and heavy cream together until stiff peaks form.
- To serve, place a dollop of the whipped cream in the bottom of serving dish. Top with a generous layer of the coffee granita. Finish with another dollop of whipped cream.
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