Affogato Charlotte Russe

By Heena • April 19, 2011 • 0 Comments

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Author Notes: You couldn't separate this girl from her coffee, especially at 8 am. Combine coffee and dessert, and there is not much more I want. Affogato, the Italian dessert of ice-cream literally "drowned" in espresso, is one of my favorites. I concocted this dessert because I wanted greater texture contrast in my affogato. It is much less fiddly to prepare than a traditional charlotte russe. You can make everything - the ice-cream/gelato, ladyfingers - from scratch or just put everything together for a beautiful but easy dessert for a dinner party. The recipe is highly adaptable and you can adjust the flavors/quantity as per your preferences. Whichever way you go, the higher the quality of the individual components, the better will be the finished dessert. - Heena

Serves 6

36-40 ladyfingers
1/3 cup Kahlua or other coffee/hazelnut flavored liqueur (or substitute with espresso)
6 scoops of vanilla ice cream or gelato (about 1.5 pints)
6 tablespoons finely chopped or grated bittersweet chocolate
6 shots of hot, freshly brewed espresso

Line the sides of 6 8-oz ramekins with ladyfingers, rounded side out. The ladyfingers will extend over the edges of the ramekins. You can trim the bottoms of the ladyfingers to get the desired height.
Break up the extra lady fingers and line the base of the ramekins. Brush the ladyfingers generously with the liqueur (or espresso).
Scoop the ice cream in the center of each ramekin. Sprinkle the chocolate over the ice cream.
Pour a shot of hot espresso over the ice cream and serve immediately or serve with shot glasses of espresso and let your guests do the pouring.