Do One Less Dish: Make Your Affogato In A Pint Of Ice Cream
Affogato is a classic Italian dessert that tastes like coffee-flavored ice cream. It is traditionally made by placing one or two scoops of vanilla gelato into a cup and pouring a freshly pulled espresso shot over the top. The resulting treat is caffeinated, rich, and sweet. The warmth from the espresso melts the gelato just a little bit, creating a luxurious soupy texture. Of course, as long as you have ice cream of any type and the ability to make espresso, at-home affogato can be yours. If you're making it at home anyway, why not pull the espresso shot straight into the pint?
For this hack, just place your pint of ice cream directly under your espresso (or Nespresso) machine and let the coffee fall directly into it. Of course, you either need to use a pint that's already been partially eaten, or take a couple of big bites from it first to make room for the extra volume of the espresso. There's something that feels lazy yet decadent about making an affogato directly into a pint of ice cream. It's the type of dessert you would make on a Saturday evening, bring over to the couch with you, and eat while watching a movie. And you don't have to eat the whole pint, just clear the area the espresso touched, and you'll have a clean slate of ice cream to pop back in the freezer.
Affogato as inspiration
If you don't have a pint of vanilla ice cream in your freezer, don't sweat it. Even though this flavor is the classic pairing, there are many more ice cream flavors that are more compatible with the flavor of coffee. In general, the bitter kick of an espresso balances well with creamy ice cream. Ice cream that has flavor notes of caramel, chocolate, fruit, or even nuts will complement the forward flavor of coffee. For instance, coconut ice cream and pistachio ice cream are both subtle and smooth but a step up from vanilla.
Don't be afraid to use a pint of ice cream with extra chunks, as this will enhance the textural profile of the affogato. Any ice cream with chocolate chips is amazing for this dessert. When the chocolate chips get hit with the stream of espresso, they will get melty and release the chocolate aroma from the once-frozen chunks. For an even more indulgent spin on affogato, use an ice cream with cookie dough or brownie chunks. As if ice cream couldn't get any more decadent, this affogato dessert hack is evidence otherwise. You eat it straight out of the pint and do one less dish.