When temperatures rise, even enjoying a cup of coffee can become prohibitive. In Sicily, they know this well, which is why every bar offers a delicious coffee granita with cream, to enjoy simply with a spoon or to use to fill the famous brioche col tuppo. If you want to enjoy an excellent homemade coffee granita – with or without an ice cream maker – here’s the perfect recipe to prepare it properly. Just a few simple ingredients – coffee, water, sugar, and whipped cream – and you’ll have a refreshing and delicious dessert, great even after a meal. If you have an ice cream maker, preparing the Sicilian granita will also be very quick: just put the ingredients in the ice cream maker, and in 10-15 minutes, the dessert will be ready to enjoy. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can follow 2 alternative methods, one quicker and one a bit more laborious but with a result more similar to the original: I’ll explain everything in the recipe!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 3 People
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Seasonality: Summer
- Energy 448.39 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 47.70 (g) of which sugars 28.34 (g)
- Proteins 7.53 (g)
- Fat 20.51 (g) of which saturated 0.03 (g)of which unsaturated 0.02 (g)
- Fibers 27.72 (g)
- Sodium 3.70 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 3 glasses of coffee granita with cream
If you are celiac, check that the powdered sugar and cocoa have the label “gluten-free”.
- 7 oz coffee
- 1 cup water
- 2.5 oz sugar
- 1/3 cup fresh liquid cream
- to taste powdered sugar (1 level tablespoon, but the amount varies according to taste)
- 1 pinch unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
Tools
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Moka
- 1 Ice Cream Maker
- 1 Bowl
- Electric Whisks
How to prepare Sicilian coffee granita with cream
To prepare the coffee granita, whether you use an ice cream maker or prepare it by hand, it is necessary to make a syrup of water and sugar and mix it with the coffee. This mixture must cool well in the refrigerator, so the best thing would be to prepare it the night before.
Start by putting water and sugar in a saucepan (1). Turn on the heat and bring it to a boil (2). From that moment, let it simmer for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. In the meantime, prepare not too strong coffee: if you have the moka, you can measure by putting a little less powder; if you use a espresso machine, you can use the button for long coffee, or mix some short coffee with some long coffee. The important thing is that in the end, you get 200 ml of coffee. Add it to the water and sugar syrup and mix well (3).
Now it is necessary to let this mixture cool well for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator. As mentioned, if you plan in advance to prepare the coffee granita, you can make the mixture even the day before. Once cold, pour it into the ice cream maker (4). Let it go for 10-15 minutes (the time varies significantly both depending on the power of the ice cream maker and on the temperature of the mixture), until the mixture has formed small ice crystals (5-6).
In the meantime, put the cream – which must be very cold, just taken from the refrigerator – in a bowl and add the powdered sugar. Whip it with the electric whisks until you get a firm mixture. With a spoon, distribute the coffee granita in glasses and garnish it with whipped cream. If you want, you can decorate it with a sprinkle of unsweetened cocoa.
To prepare the coffee granita without an ice cream maker, you have 2 options: the one that allows you to obtain a better result consists of pouring the water, sugar, and coffee mixture prepared as described before into a container wide enough, preferably in steel, and placing it in the freezer for 40 minutes. Then, with a spoon, break the ice crystals and mix briefly, trying to incorporate some air; then place the granita back in the freezer and repeat this operation 3 or 4 times every 30 minutes until you get the desired consistency.
The quicker method, on the other hand, involves that, after preparing the water, sugar, and coffee mixture, you pour the mixture into ice cube trays that are not too small. Let them freeze completely, then, shortly before enjoying the dessert, blend them for a few seconds until you get a fine and homogeneous ice mixture.
How to store coffee granita
You can store coffee granita in the freezer for several weeks, although it will obviously tend to freeze completely. The most practical thing is to freeze it directly in glass or plastic cups, so you have single servings ready, which you take out of the freezer 15 minutes before enjoying the dessert. The whipped cream should be added just before serving.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can I use sweetener instead of sugar?
Yes, in the proportions indicated on the sweetener package itself. In that case, it is not necessary to prepare the syrup on the stove, but simply mix coffee, water, and sweetener.
Can I use decaffeinated coffee?
Sure, in the same quantities.
