Granita di Caffè con Panna
Espresso Granita with Whipped Cream
Dateline: Rome, August 1971
It was hot. Hot like only Rome can get in August. That’s why the Romans leave the Eternal City to us tourists. I walked toward the Colosseum and realized the asphalt was literally sinking beneath my feet. I could feel the heat of it through my shoes. Like I said Rome is hot. I decided to take a detour and grab something refreshing. I said to the waiter, “Prendo una granita di caffè, per favore.” “Con panna?” came the response. I thought a second and said, “Si, con panna.”
That interchange was almost lightning fast, and so was relief. The translation is simple, “I’ll have a Granita di caffè.” “With cream?” “Yes, with cream.” Very quickly the waiter brought me a glass of icy coffee crystals topped with softly whipped cream. I don’t know if service was always that fast or if I presented in a most precarious state. Cool and icy, with the taste of strong coffee and a kiss of sugar, it hit the spot. I felt better and continued on to Emperor Vespasian’s iconic amphitheater.
I’ve meant to write about the class of desserts known as granita for ages. I was pressed on to do it this weekend by an article in the Los Angeles Times diminutive Food Section. Granita is simple. Make a tasty, sweet (or savory – like tomato) liquid.
Pour the liquid into a low pan, such as a baking dish, and place it in the freezer. After about 1 hour, or when the liquid has begun to freeze (the edges will freeze first) rake a fork across the top to separate the frozen mass into crystals. That is it. There’s no great mystery to the technique.
The only tricky bit comes in when you flavor the liquid. Generally speaking the liquid needs to be well flavored and on the sweet side in order to have full flavor when frozen and raked into crystals. Watch it with the sugar, though; too much sugar, and the mixture will never freeze. You can make granite (plural) from just about anything you can liquefy. In Italy you’ll find them made of espresso, lemon and other fruits.
First let me say that you can not get a good Granita di Caffè without good coffee, and Italian is the best to use. That is just the way it is. I grabbed a can of Lavazza espresso. It makes deeply flavored, strong espresso with no trace of bitterness. The Times called for combining 1 cup of finely ground coffee with 4 cups of water. No steeping time was given. I let mine go for 10 minutes, after which time I strained it through cheesecloth to be certain no grounds made their way into the granita. The Times’ staff wisely took into account that some of the 4 cups of water would be taken up by the coffee itself. Thus, their recipe called for just 3 cups of brewed coffee.
The recipe calls for a cinnamon stick to be combined with simple syrup (1 cup water and 1 ¼ cups of granulated sugar) as it boils and cools. Technically this addition renders the Times’ version profumata alla cannella (perfumed with cinnamon.) I had never seen cinnamon in this preparation before. A quick consultation with American expat Judy Witts Francini of Divina Cucina Cooking School in Certaldo, near Florence, Italy, and I learned that this is often seen in Sicily. That made perfect sense considering the tremendous Arab influence on the island.
The newspaper did not add whipped cream, but it is traditional, and it is good. Simply beat 1 cup of heavy cream with 1 or 2 tablespoons of powdered or granulated sugar until it mounds softly. This is a quintessential Italian treat. Try it once, and you will be hooked.
Click here for the full Los Angeles Times recipe.
Note: You can click on any picture for a larger image, and to see a slide show!
I have no affiliation with any product, manufacturer, or site mentioned in this article.
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 8:29 am |
O mamma mia! Cosa vedo, e a quest\’ora!! Che splendore… questa, anche se il caffè non mi è più permesso, la prenderei ugualmente. Non ci resisterei! Un abbraccio di panna e caffè, amica mia! 🙂
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 9:02 am |
Ciao!
Grazie. Adoro questo versione di caffè – molto rinfrescante! Un abbraccio a te!
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 8:31 am |
What a great coffee fix this would make at three in the afternoon on a hot summer day sounds perfect
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 9:03 am |
Hi Anthony,
I think you need to make this. It will cool you off big time. Alternatively you could go to Italy for a taste…
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 8:39 am |
con quel ricciolo di panna è proprio perfetta e golosissima !Buona giornata cara Adri, un abbraccio !
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 9:04 am |
Ciao Chiara,
E stato molti anni fa! Grazie, e un abbraccio a te!
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 1:46 pm |
This looks heavenly for a day like today!
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 2:35 pm |
Hi Laney,
So it is hot where you are too. eh? This does hit the spot. Enjoy – alla prossima!
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 2:51 pm |
una richiesta bizarra a quanto pare 🙂 io l’ho fatta qualche giorno fa, qualcosa di simile, la cannella non l’ho messa, peccato! adoro il caffè!ciaooo
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 3:55 pm |
Ciao Vicky,
Anch’io adoro la granita. La cannella è una meravigliosa aggiunta; è più di un profumo, un’altra dimensione di sapore. Provarla!
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 4:23 pm |
I agree with Anthony, and what a hot week we’re having in Chicago. This would hit the spot perfectly, it looks so refreshing Adri! Love the photos!
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 5:53 pm |
Hi Marie,
So your weather is hot too! It’s really hot here as well, and this is just the thing. I say it’s time for granita!
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 4:48 pm |
It sure can get beastly hot in Rome in August, but it can also be unbearably torrid here in N.J., so that granita would be most welcome. Coffee is my favorite flavor for ice cream or granita. I’ll take it with panna too.
Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 5:56 pm |
Ciao Linda,
I’m glad to know you are in the pro-panna camp also. This is one of the most refreshing things I know. The Times recipe, sweeter than others I have tried, and with the addition of cinnamon is really wonderful. Cool off with granita!
Thursday, August 22nd 2013 at 6:05 am |
gelato, sorbet, and now granita! I’m feeling cooler already. wonderful refreshing recipes, all.
Thursday, August 22nd 2013 at 7:10 am |
Enjoy, Nancy! Summer is still on and it’s time for cool treats!
Thursday, August 22nd 2013 at 8:06 am |
The perfect summer dessert and I definitely would use the whipped cream!
Thursday, August 22nd 2013 at 4:44 pm |
Hi Janie,
Well it would appear that the whipped cream “ayes” have it!
Thursday, August 22nd 2013 at 10:13 am |
these look tasty
Thursday, August 22nd 2013 at 4:44 pm |
Benvenuto!
Tasty and refreshing!
Thursday, August 22nd 2013 at 11:53 am |
I love granita, especially on the hottest of summer days, and yours looks SO wonderful – YUM!
Thursday, August 22nd 2013 at 4:44 pm |
Hi Amy,
I bet you could use this about now. You must be roasting!
Thursday, August 22nd 2013 at 1:53 pm |
Definitely a favorite of mine! I need no convincing! It is the first thing I ran home and made when I got home from Rome a couple of years ago…and last year.
Thursday, August 22nd 2013 at 4:45 pm |
Ciao Trevor,
What’s not to like! Great minds do indeed think alike!
Friday, August 23rd 2013 at 1:32 am |
Dear Adri, “hooked” is the right word but “addicted” is also a fitting term to use here – granita di caffè is absolutely divine and I have had my share of this wonderful treat and cannot get enough of it in summertime – thanks for posting with these fabulous pictures!
Friday, August 23rd 2013 at 6:39 am |
Hi Andrea,
I’m glad you enjoy it too. I will certainly pass the kudos on the photography on to my husband Bart. This site really has become a collaborative effort for the two of us with me the cook and writer and Bart as photographer and editor. As the two of us were doing the shoot for this, we agreed this is the ultimate in cool refreshment.
Tuesday, August 27th 2013 at 5:58 am |
To my mind, the best granita in Rome can be found at the Caffè du Parc off of via Marmorata. But then, my info may be out of the date, it’s been a few years now…
Tuesday, August 27th 2013 at 7:12 am |
Hi Frank,
It has been so long since I have been there, but I remember this experience so well. The heat of the air and the chill of the granita – that’s Rome in summer!
Saturday, September 7th 2013 at 6:32 pm |
Oh my goodness, Adri….Granita in Rome? Con Panna? I would walk barefoot on that melting pavement just for the joy of having one of these in Rome! I remember the lemon granita that we had on the Amalfi coast and made some this past year on my blog . . . used the same method that you used. But I’m always looking for a way to enjoy caffe’ freddo! This is IT!
Grazie con baci,
Roz
Saturday, September 7th 2013 at 8:08 pm |
Ciao Roz!
Enjoy. This was a new way of making it for me. I had never used cinnamon before, but the LA Times called for it in their recipe, and I decided to try it. I am so glad I did. It’s terrific. I hope you try it.
Saturday, October 19th 2013 at 4:19 am |
This reminds me of a recipe from Delicious magazine that I filled away a million years ago and never made! Doesn’t that seem to always happen? I love this sort of sweet treat. And Italian coffee is the best- I don’t know if I’d be alive without it! I like your addition of whipped cream; the recipe from my magazine garnished it with chocolate covered espresso beans as well 😉
Saturday, October 19th 2013 at 9:05 am |
Ciao Emilie,
This is a classic, and we enjoy it all the time. Funny, but I never put sugar in my hot coffee, but every time I eat this, I think perhaps I ought to. The sugar lifts all the flavors, and makes it really speical. I love this one.