Traditional Affogato Made Vegan

Welcome to recipe numero uno of Affogato Week!

We’re starting things off in the most traditional and basic way possible for an affogato, but I promise nothing about this whole situation tastes traditional and/or basic.

Affogato is one of those desserts that I absolutely love but I just never really remember to make it. Which is silly considering the traditional version requires all of two ingredients: gelato/ice cream and espresso.

I was reminded of my love for affogati when we went out to celebrate my mom’s birthday a few weeks ago. She’s not a huge dessert person (how, what, whyyyy), but we did persuade her to order an affogato for the table.

When it came, it was a single scoop of gelato and it came with a shot of espresso on the side. After pouring the espresso on top, the gelato almost instantly melted into a pool of sweet, strong coffee and cream love. We all pretty much inhaled the thing and instantly wished we had ordered about 10 more.

But because it’s so simple to make at home, we (and now you!) really have no excuse to not make it all.the.time.

While affogati are insanely simple to make, I do have a few tricks to ensure the very best affogato experience possible:

Because you’re only using 2 ingredients, make sure they’re the best you can find. I used my favorite vegan vanilla bean ice cream and coffee to really make the flavors pop. Totally not necessary, but seriously recommended.
I like scooping my ice cream/gelato into my bowl and then sticking it in the freezer to really firm up before assembling the whole thing. I’m not a huge fan of when the ice cream/gelato totally melts into a puddle – I like a little texture with my affogato.
Along those same lines, I let my coffee cool down for 5-10 minutes before pouring it on my ice cream.

And it really is as easy as that! If you’ve never had affogato before, take this recipe as a sign; you need affogati in your life.