Sicilian cocoa granita without an ice cream maker. After the Almond Granita, the Sicilian Lemon Granita and the Sicilian Pistachio Granita, here is another delightful granita you must absolutely try: cocoa granita which you can make with or without an ice cream maker. A light dessert, fat-free, easy and quick that you can make with ingredients you already have at home, simply having a good blender and some ice! The Catanese cocoa granita comes together in no time and, if you don’t want to use a blender, you can work it little by little by respecting the correct freezing times and stirring it from time to time. Sicilian chocolate granita is made with unsweetened cocoa, contains no lactose, eggs or fats, pairs well with fresh whipped cream and is delicious, gluten-free, easy to digest, very indulgent and perfect if served with a soft and fragrant brioche col tuppo. If you’re curious and want to find out how to make Catanese chocolate granita like at a cafe, let’s head to the kitchen. But first, if you want to stay updated on all my recipes, you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 5 People
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients for Sicilian cocoa granita
- 2 1/2 cups Ice (in cubes)
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder (use 3/4 cup (about 60 g) if you prefer a more intense flavor)
- 1/2 cup Sugar (use about 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp if you want it sweeter)
- 4 tbsp Glucose syrup (alternatively replace with a simple sugar-water syrup)
- 3 1/2 tbsp Cold water (very cold if needed)
- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
Tools
- Blender
Preparation
Prepare the ice the evening before; I always keep some ready so it’s available when needed. You can use the classic ice cube trays or the disposable ice bags, which are handy and allow you to store a lot of ice in a small space. After using them, dispose of them in the appropriate plastic recycling collection.
Prepare all the ingredients, pour them into the jar of your blender and blend at maximum speed for two to three minutes or until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous mixture. If you have difficulty, add just a very small amount of water.
My blender is powerful (similar to a Thermomix-style appliance), but it’s not essential. If you don’t have the possibility to blend everything as I do, you can mix about 3 1/4 cups (approximately 770 g) of ice-cold water with the unsweetened cocoa, sugar, glucose and cinnamon. Pour the mixture into a glass or metal bowl and put it in the freezer, stirring every 45 minutes. Repeat until you reach the right consistency, which you can then refine with an immersion blender if desired.
Using glucose lowers the freezing point and prevents the granita from becoming too hard, but you can replace it with a syrup made from 45 g of sugar and 20 g of water: dissolve the sugar in the water, bring just to the point of boiling and then let cool. The result won’t be identical, but it will still be delicious! In any case, this cocoa mixture can also be poured into a standard ice cream maker and processed according to the machine’s instructions to obtain the granita.
Storage
Leftover granita should be stored in the freezer in a well-sealed container. To revive it, take it out of the freezer 10–15 minutes before serving, let it soften a little and stir it with a spoon to re-whip it.
