How to Make an Affogato

An affogato is a traditional Italian dessert made from coffee (espresso) and ice cream. It’s SO good. If you like iced lattes, you will love affogatos, IMO. While it’s usually served as a dessert, if I am making one for myself I often make it in the late afternoon as a treat.

Affogato means ‘”downed” in Italian, which is the perfect name for this dessert, as it’s ice cream drowned in espresso.

Affogato also makes an impressive, but easy, dinner party dessert if your guests enjoy an after dinner espresso. You can also choose to add a shot of liquor (like amaretto) to take this dessert to the next level.

Related: Learn to make an Espresso Martini or Whipped Coffee. Also, here’s how to make an epic Affogato Dessert Bar at home!

Affogato Ingredients:

• Ice cream
• Espresso – one or two shots

Directions:

Brew the espresso. Depending on your espresso machine or method, you can use one to two shots or the equivalent amount for a single serving.

In a cup or small bowl, add a scoop or two of ice cream.

Pour the hot espresso over the ice cream and serve.

Tips & Substitutions:

• I like to freeze ice cream in these small milk glasses I thrifted. I have a set of four and I will freeze the ice cream so it goes up the sides of the glass and leaves a hole in the center for the espresso shot to be added. I keep these in my freezer so I can make an affogato anytime I want.
• You could also make these cups ahead for a dinner party and then all you need to do is add the espresso shots, and I make them to serve.
• Use a flavored ice cream for an upgrade! I like mint chocolate chip, but cookie dough sounds pretty good, too.
• Instead of ice cream you could use gelato, sorbet, or frozen custard. Anything that pairs well with espresso (or dark chocolate) will be delicious.
• Add toppings like you could a sundae for a nontraditional twist: sprinkles, caramel syrup, sea salt, crushed Oreo cookies, etc.

Home Espresso Makers:

We’ve tried many espresso makers over the years, and here are our favorites at different price points and skill levels:

• Cafe Automatic Espresso Machine – My current machine. It uses any whole beans, so if you use high quality beans you’ll get high quality espresso. It makes espresso shots automatically (no barista skills required) and includes a milk frothing wand to heat and froth milk. We’ve used this machine almost every day since we got it seven months ago and we love it! It comes in three colors.
• Stovetop Espresso – This is the cheapest way to make espresso at home. It’s more labor intensive and you will also need a way to grind your beans for best results. But, this is a classic method that works great when done well.
• Breville Barista Touch – We bought this for a good friend as a wedding gift once and they said they love it. It’s a higher end machine that you will need some barista skills to operate, but it’s an excellent home espresso maker.
• Nespresso Vertuo – For those who want an espresso maker that uses pods, this is my favorite. Depending what pod you use, it can make espresso or coffee.