Hot espresso poured over vanilla ice cream;  so simple that it’s barely worthy of the title ‘recipe’ – however, as desserts go, it’s one of the nicest ways to end a meal.

You’ll need an espresso machine that makes the wonderful golden ‘crema’ (foam) that’s created when air bubbles combine with the coffee’s aromatic soluble oils. If you don’t have one I can recommend Nespresso; they have a range of fabulous machines; they’re fairly expensive but absolutely worth it and totally mess-free.

It doesn’t matter if you use decaffeinated espresso as long as the quality is good, so jittery folks who don’t touch caffeine after midday can also enjoy this wonderful treat.

You’ll also need some of the very best quality vanilla ice cream. That’s it.

ESPRESSO with VANILLA ICE CREAM (Affogato al caffe)

Per person, you’ll need:

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream in a small bowl or coffee cup (stay away from fat free, sugar free and other adulterated stuff – you want the best of the best)

Half a cup of freshly made, steaming hot espresso

Note: The ice cream scoops need to be hard when you pour the hot coffee over them, so it might be a good idea to soften it enough to scoop, then put the scoops back in the freezer until you’re ready to serve.

Enjoy!