Frozen espresso with panna 👌🏼
Scroll all the way to the bottom for some moka pot SOS.
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, we close our eyes and pretend we’re in Italy. Maybe it’ll come true later this summer 😉 Read past posts here, and please follow my Instagram, @fivethingsiate.
In one of my Nightly Scrolling Quests, where I scroll the seven seas of Instagram reels so hard and so fast sometimes I run into reels my friends have already liked, I came upon this recipe for “frozen espresso with vanilla panna” that has been haunting me ever since. In the reel, a chef (apparently a TV celeb) with a thick Italian American accent makes essentially a frozen coffee granita with a thick cloud of fluffy whipped cream on top, all served in a frosty rocks glass. He had me at moka pot, and I’ve been waiting patiently since for an afternoon where I could test this recipe out and share the results with you. Finally, the time has come.
The result? I didn’t expect it to be this good, but damn, it’s good. The whipped cream cuts the bitterness of the moka coffee, which is NOT the same as espresso, but something else altogether. Definitely don’t skip the lemon peel, which adds a lot (as we learned from the iced lemon shaken espresso).
Warning: This stuff is STRONG. It was so strong I had to lie down a bit after eating it. I have a 3-cup moka pot, which means I use approximately 15 grams of coffee to make the equivalent of a doubleshot. On mornings where I use the moka, that’s my coffee allotment for the day. If you’re having it as an afternoon pick-me up, a tiny espresso cup will do.
The original recipe didn’t have measurements, so these are approximate. This recipe is very forgiving, it’s more of a loose idea. Adjust as needed.
Frozen espresso with panna
Makes 1 very strong (I mean full morning coffee) serving, or 2 afternoon pick me-ups. You can easily double. Recipe is more of a loose guideline.
You will need:
1 moka pot – “3 cup” size, or scale recipe (read to the end for my trials and tribulations).
1 metal cake pan (or quarter baking sheet) NOT NONSTICK – UNCOATED
Freshly ground coffee (about 15g)
¼ cup powdered sugar, divided
1 cup fresh heavy whipping cream
Vanilla bean paste
A lemon, just for the peel
To make the coffee base:
Set a pot of water to boil.
When water is just boiling, pour into base of moka pot.
Add the funnel piece and fill to the top with coffee grounds.
Using a pot holder or towel because the base is HOT, screw the top tightly on.
Set on low heat, and watch carefully. You want the coffee to flow, not spurt out. Shut off heat immediately when it stops flowing.
Pour into a metal pan or baking sheet right away.
Throw in two spoonfuls of powdered sugar, and stir rapidly to dissolve.
Carefully put in freezer.
The magic is that with the metal pan, the coffee freezes super fast!
To make the vanilla whipped cream (or panna):
Set a metal bowl in the freezer if you want bonus points.
When it’s cold, pour about a cup of heavy cream into it.
Add two spoonfuls of powdered sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla paste.
Using a lot of elbow grease, whip with a whisk.
Stop when it’s thick and smooth, not yet stiff.
To serve:
Stick a small glass or espresso cups in the freezer.
Use a veggie peeler to cut a long strip of lemon rind.
This looks coolest in a small rocks glass, like the iconic duralex picardie.
Take the coffee out of the freezer – it should be slushy by now. Use a fork to scrape it out of the pan and into the cup(s).
Top with a healthy amount (it should be 50-50 coffee and cream) of whipped cream. Garnish with a strip of lemon peel.
You will have some extra whipped cream, but who’s complaining?
Serve immediately.
Hello Kitty spoon optional.
Stay cool,
Soph
P.S. ATTENTION READERS! I need help. OK, so recently I tried to upgrade my electric moka pot (which I really like, but sometimes want more precision for!) with a Bialetti Express for the weekends. It did… not go well. For some reason, no matter how tight I tried to screw it, the base would leak steam on the stove and I couldn’t get a steady flow going. Is this… normal for the Bialetti Express? Did I get a flawed model? And most importantly, what is your ride-or-die moka pot recommendation? I was bummed because I had the impression that Bialetti really was a kind of buy-it-for-life product. You can reply to this email, or message me on Instagram.
how long does the coffee stay in the freezer? Also, I've had my trusty Bialetti for at least ten years so it sounds like you got a faulty model! Sometimes you have to replace the little rubber sealer ring at the base of the top part but you really shouldn't have to do that for many years.