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Granita di caffe (coffee granita)

Time20 minutes
YieldsServes 6 to 8
Coffee granita (granita di caffe)
(Calvin B. Alagot / Los Angeles Times)
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There is no better way to jettison yourself out of overheated doldrums than an icy glass of granita di caffe con panna, a parfait of sweetened granular espresso ice layered with dollops of barely sweetened whipped cream.

If you don’t want to deal with making the coffee, you could just buy a few shots to-go from your local coffee spot. Remember that sweetness dulls when frozen, so the espresso should be slightly sweeter than you might think.

If you want an easy, high-quality cheat to bump up the coffee flavor, get yourself a bottle of Trablit, a French-made coffee extract. Just a small spoonful will enhance the coffee flavor (and color) without adding any bitterness. It was the Angeli tiramisu secret for years.

To make simple syrup, combine equal parts water and sugar in a saucepan, warming and stirring until the sugar is dissolved; the syrup will keep, covered and refrigerated, up to 2 weeks.

From the story: How to make granita di caffe, Italian coffee granita, the caffeinated solution to a heat wave

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1

In a large Mason jar or sealable container, combine the coffee and water, giving it a good stir. Cover and set aside for 12 hours to give the coffee time to infuse. Strain the coffee using a coffee filter, double layer of cheesecloth or tea towel. Taste and sweeten the granita base as desired with simple syrup.

2

Pour the granita base into a large, sealable plastic bag or cake pan and freeze. When the liquid begins to freeze, after about an hour, give the bag a good squeeze or scrape a fork repeatedly across the freezing brew in the pan. Repeat every hour until you have icy granules.

3

Serve the granita with the heavy cream.

Kleiman ran Angeli Caffe for 27 years. She’s the longtime host of KCRW-FM’s “Good Food” and a member of the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.