Signature drink
How to Make an Affogato
A scoop of vanilla ice cream drowned in a hot, freshly pulled espresso — the two-ingredient Italian dessert that is also a coffee.
Ingredients
- 1 scoop (about 80 g) good vanilla ice cream — we use Mövenpick
- 1 freshly pulled espresso, single or double to taste
- Optional: crushed hazelnuts, a biscuit, or a square of dark chocolate on the side
Steps
- Chill a small glass or bowl in the freezer for a few minutes so the ice cream does not melt on contact.
- Scoop the ice cream into the glass — one round scoop, not packed down.
- Pull the espresso at the last moment, so it is hot and still has its crema.
- Pour the espresso over the ice cream at the table and eat straight away with a spoon, while it is half-melted.
Tips
- Contrast is the whole point: very hot espresso, very cold ice cream. Do not let either one wait for the other.
- Vanilla is the classic, but pistachio, hazelnut or salted caramel are excellent too.
- Affogato means 'drowned' in Italian — it is served as a dessert, but it counts as your coffee.
The affogato is the shortest recipe on this site and one of the best things you can do with an espresso machine. A scoop of ice cream in a glass, a hot shot poured over it, a spoon. That is it. The Italian name means “drowned” — affogato al caffè, drowned in coffee — and it describes exactly what happens: the ice cream begins to melt the moment the espresso hits it, the espresso begins to cool, and for about two minutes you have a dessert that is simultaneously hot and cold, bitter and sweet, drink and food. Then it is gone, which is as it should be.
The two ingredients
Because there are only two, both matter. The ice cream should be a proper dairy ice cream with real vanilla — something with a bit of fat and a bit of body, so that it holds its shape for a moment under the hot coffee rather than collapsing into milk. We use Mövenpick, which is what we serve by the scoop as well. Gelato works beautifully too, and is closer to what you would get in Italy.
The espresso should be fresh, hot and well pulled: a shot that tastes good on its own. Any sourness or bitterness in the shot is amplified by the sweetness of the ice cream, not hidden by it. A single shot is the traditional amount; we usually pour a double, because modern light roasts need the strength and because nobody has ever complained about too much coffee on their ice cream.
Timing
The affogato is a dish about temperature contrast, and contrast fades fast. Chill the glass, scoop the ice cream just before you need it, and pull the espresso last — it should go from the machine to the glass in seconds. If you are making it for a table of four, have four glasses of ice cream ready in the freezer and pull the shots one after another. Pouring at the table is not just theatre; it means the ice cream has not started melting before anyone has a spoon in hand.
Variations
Vanilla is the classic and the best place to start, but the affogato is a friendly format. Pistachio ice cream with espresso is a Sicilian pairing; hazelnut leans towards a Nutella-like richness; salted caramel is hard to argue with. A crumbled biscuit, a few crushed hazelnuts or a square of dark chocolate on the side adds crunch. Some people add a small pour of amaretto or a coffee liqueur, which turns it into a nightcap.
When to order it
After lunch on a warm day, when you want both a coffee and a dessert and do not want to choose. It is on our menu as a signature, made with a Mövenpick scoop and a shot of our Calibre Coffee espresso poured at the table. Find us on Sultanahmet Square and let it drown — see the menu.