Sometimes a quick dessert is required with little time to think about it or prepare it. An affogato is the perfect solution. It’s small and intensely pleasurably with the added bonus of being the perfect pick-me up. You can add a shot of ‘Baileys’ or any other complementing festive spirit for an even more indulgent cup.

Technically, affogato is a way of serving coffee, but at dessert time it can be a way of serving ice-cream.

Affogato is simply a scoop of ice-cream ‘drowned’ (literally, the Italian definition of the word) in coffee. While this recipe uses a christmas pudding semifreddo, you can choose which ever ice-cream flavour you like – just make sure it combines well with coffee and lends its self to the overall experience. By this, I mean don’t use an overwhelmingly hideous flavour such as bubblegum! Rum and Raisin or chocolate ice-cream are two such ideal examples, but it is hard to go past vanilla.

For each glass or cup,
1 good scoop of ice-cream, in this case a festive scoop of Christmas Pudding Semifreddo,
1 shot of hot espresso

Place the scoop of semifreddo or ice-cream in a small glass, cup or tumbler (preferably pre-chilled in the freezer) and pour over the hot espresso. Add any liqueur you prefer if there are no kids around.

Serve straight away.