Coffee granita with whipped cream (granita al caffè)
A Sicilian summer breakfast: icy coffee granita with whipped cream and a brioche. Just coffee and sugar.
In Messina and Catania, granita al caffè is eaten in the morning, often "mezza con panna" — a glass half granita, half whipped cream, with a warm topknot brioche (brioscia col tuppo) on the side. It is the simplest recipe of all: strong coffee sweetened with sugar. Everything depends on the quality of the coffee.
Type: Granita · Servings: 6 · Difficulty: Easy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 800 g espresso (brewed) (strong espresso or moka pot coffee)
- 170 g granulated sugar (sucrose)
- 200 g whipping cream 33 % (for topping or folding in at the end, whipped, for serving)
Making the mix
- Brew strong coffee and sweeten it with the sugar while still hot. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Leave to cool, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Method — No-machine method
- Pour the chilled mix into a shallow metal or glass container (2–3 cm deep) and put it in the freezer.
- After 45–60 minutes, once the edges have frozen, scrape them with a fork and mix them into the centre.
- Repeat the scraping every 30 minutes until everything has turned into loose, icy flakes (about 3–4 hours in total).
- Before serving, fork the granita through once more and spoon it into chilled glasses.
A metal container chills faster than glass. If you forget the granita for too long and it freezes into a block, let it soften for 10 minutes, then scrape it with a fork or pulse it briefly in a food processor.
Total time: 5 h 15 min
Method — Compressor ice cream maker
- Switch the ice cream maker on 5–10 minutes ahead so the bowl can pre-chill.
- Pour in the chilled mix and churn for 20–25 minutes until you have a thick, glossy, still flowing ice slush.
- Serve straight away — this is how the smooth granita is sold in eastern Sicily (Messina, Catania), from rotating dispensers.
An ice cream maker gives a smooth, creamy granita. Don’t churn it too long — granita shouldn’t be as firm as sorbet. Any leftovers will set in the freezer; fork them through before serving.
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Stages
- Preparation
- 15 min
- Cooling
- 1 h
- Freezer with stirring
- 4 h
- Total time
- 5 h 15 min
Serving and storage
Put a spoonful of whipped cream in a glass, add the granita on top and finish with more cream. Serve with a warm brioche to dip into the melting granita.
Granita is best on the day it is made. It keeps for a few days in the freezer but sets hard — let it soften for 5–10 minutes before serving and scrape it again with a fork.
Tips
- Coffee loses flavour when frozen — brew it stronger than you would drink it. 100 % Arabica with a gentle acidity works well.
- If you want a less sweet granita, use 20–30 g less sugar; it will be coarser and harder.
- For a caffeine-free version, use good decaf coffee — the taste is almost the same.
- For adults: pour a spoonful of amaretto or coffee liqueur over the granita when serving.
Why it works
Granita contains about a third less sugar than sorbet. At −10 °C, a larger share of the water therefore freezes and bigger crystals form. Scraping doesn’t melt them, it just breaks them into flakes. The less sugar, the coarser and crunchier the granita; at 17–18 % it is still fine enough to eat with a spoon.