[Malaysian Recipes] Coffee Granita

Confession – I don’t like hot drinks. Give me ice! Give me chilled! Give me a scoop of ice cream for my coffee! But hold that canned whipped cream coz that shite is naaaaasty. It doesn’t matter if it’s freezing outside, I will still cup my gloved hands around a soothing iced beverage and say to hell with winter.

Anyway I lurrrve my coffees iced. So for me, a coffee granita – or in not-so-fancy terms, a rough coffee slushy – is perfect. I love having a container of it stored in the freezer so I can sneak in a few spoonfuls whenever I need a pick me up.

It’s also perfect in desserts – as a trifle topping, with tiramisu or served with a shot of liqueur poured over (like a light, boozy affogato). Feel free to use any good quality instant, espresso, Viet or Malaysian-filtered coffee (just don’t forget the condensed milk hehe). But for the love of all that is holy, stay away from that tin of International Roast ya hear? *shudder*

COFFEE GRANITA

Serves 2
Not so much a recipe, but more of a guide. Coffee intensity and sweetness can be changed to your preference.

INGREDIENTS
500ml of freshly brewed coffee
2-3 Tbl of sugar or to taste

INSTRUCTIONS
Brew your coffee to your preferred intensity (instant, filtered, long black or slightly diluted espresso - your choice). Feel free to flavour your coffee with vanilla, spices or even a bit of chocolate to change it up if you wish.
Sweeten your coffee to taste with sugar. Just remember that freezing will mute the flavour so be sure to make your coffee a little more intense and sweeter than normal to counteract it. Note that the more sugar there is in the coffee, the softer the granita will be when frozen.

Pour into a shallow container and freeze. Check after 45-60 minutes; when the sides of the coffee start to freeze up, use a fork to mix it around. Check on it every 1-2 hours and use a fork to scrape, crush and mix the granita until completely frozen. The more you scrape the finer the granita will be.

NOTES

Serving suggestion: serve granita in glasses and top with condensed milk, whipped cream flavoured with vanilla or liqueur or just pour over a shot of alcohol affogato-style.