It’s that time of the year where the blistering sun outdoors has us avoiding heat in literally any other form. Steaming morning, afternoon and night coffees are slowly making their exit, waving a sentimental goodbye – and it’s time for the new kid on the block to shine. Ice, baby! (..I’ll see myself out)
A glass of iced coffee is a cool, invigorating boost against the summer scorch like no other, and here we have three easy-to-make recipes for you - from the cool, sweet goodness of a Spanish latte to a dark chocolate-rich iced mocha. The best part? It takes just 5 minutes for each one.
1. AFFOGATO
This Italian coffee-based dessert or beverage is a refreshing union of creamy vanilla gelato or ice-cream with one shot of espresso. The vanilla melts in the rich bitter espresso for a lightly sweet mouthful – perfect for any time of the day. Fun fact: ‘Affogato al caffe’ actually means ‘drowned in coffee’ in Italian, referring to the plight of the vanilla ice cream.
As a bonus, you can also add toppings like berries, biscuit crumble and nuts as per your preference.
Serves: 1
Ingredients:
• 1 scoop vanilla ice cream or vanilla gelato
• 20 gms of ground coffee for espresso
Method:
1. Weight out 18.7 gms of coffee grounds and tamp it in the portafilter for your espresso machine. In the video, it is a blend of Brazilian, Colombian and Indonesian coffee grounds and this amount is chosen to balance the sweetness, bitterness and acidity of the coffee.
2. In the video, it is a double shot espresso due to the design of the portafilter that has two channels for dripping coffee.
3. Once the shot of espresso is ready, place one scoop of vanilla ice cream in a dessert cup.
4. Just before serving, pour the hot espresso over the vanilla ice-cream for a light and refreshing affogato.
Note: You can also make some extra strong instant coffee and follow the same process.
2. ICED MOCHA
For the chocolate lovers, we present this rich milky coffee laced with a decadent strain of dark chocolate. Deal with chocolate and coffee cravings in one go with this iced mocha recipe, which is not sweet at all, thanks to the espresso and dark chocolate combo. Mocha is actually the name of a port in Yemen, the origin of Arabica coffee beans used in the early coffee trade – but the current mocha is said to be from the US and takes inspiration from Italy’s ‘bicerin’ drink that is made of layered espresso, drinking chocolate and milk.
If you’re looking for more fun, add marshmallows, whipped cream…
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients:
• 60 gms ground coffee for espresso
• 100 gms 70% dark chocolate chips
• 30 gms boiling water
• 1 litre full fat milk
• 1 ½ cup of ice cubes
Method:
1. Heat up a measuring jar by filling it with boiling water. Pour it out once the dish heats up.
2. Add the dark chocolate chips and 30 gms of boiling water and mix it slowly with a spoon until all the chocolate melts.
3. For each of the three cups, weigh out 18.7 gms of coffee grounds and tamp it in the portafilter for your espresso machine. Prepare the shot of espresso.
4. Mix 60gms of the melted chocolate mixture and one espresso shot in a glass.
5. Fill a mason jar with ice cubes, and pour milk until the top with a little space left over.
6. Just before serving, also pour the chocolate espresso mixture into the mason jar and place your straw in. Enjoy!
3. ICED SPANISH LATTE
For a full-bodied sweetness, indulge in an iced Spanish latte – strong espresso swirled in milk and sweetened condensed milk. The drink is also known as ‘café con leche’ or ‘coffee with milk’ in Spanish and is beloved in Latin American countries as a classic breakfast drink.
Serves: 3
Ingredients:
• 300 gms sweetened condensed milk
• 700 gms full fat milk
• 60 gms of ground coffee
• 1½ cup of ice cubes
Method:
1. Weight out 300 gms of condensed milk and 700 gms of full fat milk in a bottle using a weighing machine, and mix well. This can be for three to four cups.
2. For each cup, prepare a shot of espresso using 18.7 gms of coffee grounds.
3. Fill a mason jar with the ice cubes, and pour the milk mixture up to the top.
4. Just before serving, pour the shot of espresso in for the sweet goodness of an iced Spanish latte.
Did you like these recipes? Have any iced drink recipes that you love in the summer? Let us know at food@gulfnews.com
