Photo: Ditte Isager

More grown-up than ice cream swimming in chocolate sauce and more Roman Holiday than fruit and store-bought pound cake, affogato is the two-ingredient treat I'm making most often this summer. And by "making," I mean pouring a shot of espresso over a scoop of vanilla gelato. The hot and bitter coffee melting into the sweet frozen dessert is pretty much heaven on a hot July night.

Not that you need much more of a "recipe" than the one described above, but you can top your affogato with crushed espresso beans, shaved dark chocolate and chopped hazelnuts, or dulce de leche. However you serve this treat, it's best to eat it while envisioning yourself at a cafe in Rome, while your Vespa waits just across the piazza.

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