Affogato ("drowned" coffee)

Affogato in Italian means "drowned".  When people hear the word Affogato they immediately associate it with some type of coffee beverage which the word is always related to.  The most common type of Affogato is the one I did here.  And since my hubby bought me a Bialetti Espesso pot for Valentine's Day, what is a woman to do!  Make Affogato of course!

 Brew some espresso and then pour this wonderful coffee over a few scoops of vanilla ice cream creating clouds of richness and yumminess!  I have seen espresso coffee poured over toasted almond gelato and other types of ice cream.  Vanilla, in my opinion, helps mellow the coffee and really brings out the coffee flavor in this dessert.   Whatever type of ice cream or gelato you choose to use for this recipe, I guarantee that you will love it!  (Well, unless you use a mint chocolate flavor which would be a travesty to the recipe.)

Ingredients:  Espresso coffee (any brand you like)
                     Vanilla Bean ice cream (I used one made with coconut milk)
                     Espresso coffee maker (or a regular coffee maker)

Take apart espresso maker.

Fill the bottom with cold water.  Make sure not to fill above the level notches that you see on the inside.  The espresso maker I have makes 6 cups of coffee.

Take the funnel shaped filter and place in the bottom.  Put your coffee grounds in the filter.  Do not pack down. 

Then screw on the top of the espresso maker.  When placing on the source of heat,  if you have a gas flame, make sure the flame does not go out past the bottom edges of the espresso maker.

Once you hear the coffee perking, look in the top and see if it is ready.  When the top is full then coffee is ready.

Now, what I found out is that some Italians take a spoonful of sugar and pour in the top once the coffee is done and stir with the stem of your spoon since the pot is so small.

Put a few scoops of ice cream in a bowl.  I used a little decorative coffee cup here.

Then pour the rich, wonderful espresso over the ice cream.  Creating a bowl of pure delight!

You can add grated nutmeg, shaved chocolate, cinnamon or whipped cream to this.  I love mine just with the ice cream and coffee.  Simple is best with this dish.

 

Enjoy!!

English Orange Breakfast Cake

English Orange Breakfast Cake

I have been wanting to make this cake for a while. This cake is popular in Britain for breakfast or for dessert topped with powdered sugar or an orange glaze on top. Many pubs in the UK serve it for dessert.  There are different versions of this cake in the British cookbooks that I have come across, but the most common recipe I have seen usually uses clementines instead of oranges.  In my research of this cake I also found that it is a popular dish for Passover. It is hard to say where this cake originated since it appears in many cookbooks from different countries even though it appears to dominate in British culture. All I can say is that it is yummy!

It is at the end of the holiday season and I have oranges abound in my kitchen so oranges are what I used for this version.  This cake is rich and moist.  The bright orange color is pleasing to the eye especially with a little powdered sugar sprinkled over the top which is how I eat it. 

Whether you eat this cake for breakfast or dessert, you are sure to be pleased with the orange flavor and sweetness of it.

Ingredients:   3 Oranges (4 to 5 Clementines if that is what you are using)
                      6 Eggs
                      1 1/4 cup of regular sugar
                      2 1/3 cups ground Almonds (I used Bob's Red Mill)
                      1 heaping teaspoon of baking powder
                      Butter/Oil to grease the pan (I used Safflower oil)

Put the oranges in a pot.  Cover fully with cold water.  Bring to a boil and cook for 2 hours.

After cooking let cool. You can drain the pot or allow the oranges to cool down in the water.

Once cooled, squeeze out any extra water from the oranges.

Put the oranges in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Add ground almonds, baking powder, sugar and eggs.  Pulse until fully incorporated.

Pour batter into an 8 inch springform pan oiled or buttered and lined with parchment paper.  I also wrap foil around the outside bottom and sides to prevent any batter from leaking.

Then bake at 375 degrees F for an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle.  My oven took about an hour and 15 minutes to cook the cake.

Once done, place on a rack still in the pan to completely cool.  Some of the recipes I read advised to leave the cake in the pan over night to cool. I cannot wait that long.

Once cooled cut a slice! Add a little powdered sugar to make it look a little more elegant.

 

                                                                        Enjoy!!