VIETNAMESE COFFEE SUNDAES

Vietnamese Coffee Sundaes image

Here, a sort of granita made with very strong coffee is layered with a sweetened cream mixture, and then doused in a chocolatey coffee syrup. It's a relatively lengthy endeavor, but one well worth doing. The individual parts must be made ahead of time, so plan accordingly.

Provided by Alice Hart

Categories ice creams and sorbets, dessert

Time 45m

Yield 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups very strong hot black coffee
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk
2 cups light cream
1 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
1/4 cup dark chocolate shards, optional

Steps:

Mix 1/2 cup of the sugar in 2 1/4 cups of the hot coffee until it dissolves. Pour into a shallow lidded container and cool. In a bowl, combine the remaining 1 1/4 cups coffee and 1/2 cup sugar with cocoa powder; stir until the sugar dissolves to make a syrup, cover, and refrigerate.
Whisk together the condensed milk, light cream, crème fraîche, vanilla and salt, and pour into a shallow lidded container. Place both shallow lidded containers in the freezer for 2 hours.
Remove condensed milk mixture (ice cream) from the freezer, and whisk vigorously, breaking down the ice crystals until the texture is smooth. Return to freezer to set firm before scooping, about 4 hours or overnight.
Remove coffee mixture (granita) from freezer and rake the surface with the tines of a fork to form icy crystals. Return it to the freezer and repeat this raking every hour for about three more hours, until the texture is free-flowing but completely crystalline. At this point, it may be frozen overnight. Rake over again before serving to loosen.
To serve, place scoops of the ice cream into glasses or bowls, alternating each scoop with coffee granita. Douse with coffee syrup, scatter with chocolate shards, if using, and serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 684, UnsaturatedFat 12 grams, Carbohydrate 79 grams, Fat 39 grams, Fiber 0 grams, Protein 9 grams, SaturatedFat 24 grams, Sodium 194 milligrams, Sugar 78 grams