Chocolate Granita

Author Notes

Granita is as laid-back as frozen dessert gets. No special equipment—and, honestly, no special technique—required. A large, shallow dish and fork are all you need.

Granitas often are based on a summery fruit puree or juice, like strawberry, watermelon, peaches, and on. But other slurpy situations are just as worth granita-ing. Think: coffee, tea, and, in this case, hot cocoa.

If you have cocoa powder, granulated sugar, water, and salt—we’re ready to rumble.

As David Lebovitz’s Genius Chocolate Sorbet taught me, a chocolate frozen dessert doesn’t need cream or milk. In fact, its chocolatey flavor is often more confident without such distractions, like a shot of espresso that shines all the brighter without any foam.

As noted in the ingredient list, the topping is a choose-your-own adventure. Or you can skip it altogether. I like something rich and creamy, to contrast the sultry chocolate, like a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk from the pantry or a dollop of that Greek yogurt about to go bad in the fridge. Chocolate gets along with everyone, so it’s hard to go wrong here.

This is one of our Big Little Recipes, our weekly column all about dishes with big flavor and little ingredient lists. Do you know (and love) a recipe that’s low in ask, high in reward? Let us know in the comments. —Emma Laperruque