Hot, strong espresso pours over cold vanilla ice cream, melting the edges into a creamy coffee sauce. Homemade hazelnut praline adds a crunchy, slightly bitter contrast.
An affogato is a simple Italian dessert: vanilla ice cream or gelato topped with hot espresso. The word means “drowned,” a fitting description of the moment the coffee meets the ice cream. Serve it straight away, so you get firm, cold bites at first, followed by a soft mix of ice cream and coffee. The hazelnut praline is a modern addition here; it doesn’t change the essence of the dessert, but adds extra texture and a roasted, caramel-like flavor.
The coffee should be hot and strong, so it holds its own alongside the sweet ice cream. A double espresso per person is a useful guide; with a much smaller amount, the dessert can quickly become mostly sweet. Make the coffee just before serving and pour it over the ice cream at the table or immediately afterwards. An espresso machine gives a concentrated result, but strong coffee from a moka pot or another brewing method works too. In that case, use enough coffee to generously cover the ice cream without making the dessert watery.
For the praline, melt sugar until it becomes an amber-colored caramel. The color matters: pale yellow caramel tastes mostly sweet, while a deeper amber color adds a pleasant bitterness that goes well with espresso. Take the pan off the heat as soon as the color is right and work quickly, because caramel darkens fast. Toasting hazelnuts brings out more aroma and flavor; remove any loose skins if they come away easily, but don’t worry about getting them all off. Caramel is extremely hot: never touch it, and let it cool completely before chopping.
Full-flavored vanilla ice cream gives the coffee a creamy base. Choose firm ice cream that’s easy to scoop; don’t let it soften beforehand, as it will melt too quickly once the espresso is added. You can chop the hazelnut praline finely or coarsely. Finely chopped praline sprinkles evenly over the ice cream, while larger pieces give a more pronounced crunch. A small pinch of salt in the praline makes the caramel flavor stand out a little more.
Make the praline ahead of time if you want to serve the dessert quickly. Store the cooled pieces in a tightly sealed, dry jar at room temperature; moisture makes caramel sticky. Scoop the ice cream into glasses at the last minute, and have the espresso and praline ready. Serve as a small dessert after a meal, or add a crisp almond cookie. Leave the cookie out if you want to keep the combination of espresso, ice cream and hazelnut simple.
Heat a dry frying pan over medium heat. Toast the hazelnuts for 3–5 minutes, shaking the pan regularly, and remove them as soon as they smell fragrant and are lightly colored in places. Leave to cool.
Have a sheet of baking paper ready on a heatproof surface. Put the sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Don’t stir; gently swirl the pan once the sugar starts to melt around the edges. Remove the pan from the heat when the caramel is amber-colored.
Immediately stir the hazelnuts and pinch of salt into the caramel. Tip the mixture onto the baking paper and leave to cool completely until hard. Chop the praline finely or coarsely, as you prefer.
Divide the vanilla ice cream between two glasses or small bowls. Have the espresso and praline ready.
Make the espresso just before serving. Pour a double espresso over each serving of ice cream and sprinkle with a spoonful of hazelnut praline. Serve immediately.
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