Affogato (ice-cream drowned in coffee)

The literal translation for 'affogato' is drowned.  Generous scoops of vanilla ice-cream drowned in espresso coffee....hmmmmm.  This is so simple to prepare yet it feels so decadent.  I always hover over my bowl trying to savour every mouthful before the hot coffee melts away my ice-cream. My favourite part is the tiny crystallised pieces of concentrated coffee that form on the outer edges.  I also love the steam that arises as the hot coffee hits the cold ice-cream.  It is also common to add a shot of liquor such as amaretto. 

If you have a espresso machine at home, simply pour a shot over balls of vanilla ice-cream.  If not, use a coffee pot as shown above.  There are three balls of ice-cream with 1/4 cup of coffee in the opening photograph.