Margot Lecarpentier is one of the best bartenders in Paris. At her bar, Combat, she shakes and stirs up cocktails – with and without alcohol – that are some of the best in the city. One a warm summer day, Margot stopped by to make an Affogato for us to enjoy in my backyard.

In Italian, affogato means “drowned,” and the typical affogato is a scoop of ice cream drowned in espresso, which is delicious. But Margot ramps things up a notch using a blend of rum, coffee liqueur, and amaro, which gives the dessert a lively kick. While you could use vanilla ice cream, Margot likes chocolate as much as I do, so I churned up a batch of chocolate sorbet, which also happens to be dairy-free, and she used that. Feel free to use your favorite flavor.

Cheers!

You can watch the full video of Margot and I making the Affogato in my newsletter here.

Print Affogato A delicious dessert with ice cream drowned in coffee liqueur, rum, and amaro Course DrinksCuisine ItalianKeyword affogato, amaro, coffee liqueur, ice cream, rum Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 3/4 ounce (20ml) dark rum
  • 3/4 ounce (20ml) amaro
  • 3/4 ounce (20ml) coffee liqueur
  • Ice cream or sorbet
  • 2 shots espresso (cooled slightly)

Instructions

  • In a small pitcher or measuring cup, mix together the rum, amaro, and coffee liqueur.
  • Put one generous scoop, or several smaller scoops, of ice cream or sorbet into two ice cream dishes or small bowls. Douse each serving with the mix of liqueurs.
  • Add a shot of espresso to each portion and serve.

Notes

You can use your favorite brands of liqueur here. In this recipe, Margot used Rabarbaro Nardini amaro, but others, such as Fernet-Branca or Ramazzotti, would work. Nowadays there are non-alcoholic versions of most liqueurs, including the ones used here. If you’re avoiding alcohol, you can use non-alcoholic alternatives.  For serving, feel free to shave some dark chocolate over the top of each affogato.