Iced Coffee Is The Perfect Base For A Refreshing Granita

Hot summer days call for refreshing sweet treats, and there's nothing better than a granita to cool you down. Known for its crystalline texture, the traditional Sicilian delicacy is different from your typical smooth sorbet or ice cream. It is both delicious and incredibly versatile — from fruit-flavored granita to chocolate granita, the flavor options are endless. And if you need a kick of caffeine to get through scorching days, try making a coffee granita with iced coffee for just the cool kick you need.

Granita is said to have been created in Sicily during the 9th century by Arabs, who brought their sherbet recipe over during their rule. They would make this dessert by freezing fruit juices with sugar, ice, and flavors like rose and sandalwood. Over time, Sicilians developed the recipe and made it their own; some even say that this inspired them to preserve snow from Mount Etna to make it.

Today, granita is a cultural and gastronomic staple in Sicily. It is commonly eaten at breakfast paired with a brioche bun. Popular flavors include pistachio, lemon, chocolate, and coffee. Coffee granita, or granita di caffè, is an especially great way to start your day, but it's also a nice afternoon pick-me-up. Plus, it only requires a few staple ingredients, making it a super chill cooking project. 

If you're looking to minimize food waste this summer, use your extra brewed coffee to make a coffee granita instead of dumping it down the drain. Ideally, you'll use about two cups' worth. While it's still hot, combine the coffee with half a cup of granulated sugar, and then let the mixture sit out to reach room temperature. Once it has, pour it into a pan and place it in the freezer.

The step you cannot skip for perfect texture in your granita is making sure that you scrape the mixture with a fork every 20-30 minutes so that it develops the quintessential slushy-like texture and doesn't freeze and become one big block of coffee ice. This is also the technique that makes granita different from sorbet; when making a sorbet, the mixture is churned instead of scraped.

Continue the scraping process every so often for about an hour and a half, or until the granita has reached your desired level of flakiness. Enjoy it on its own, or with a dollop of whipped cream. And try to resist going back to the freezer for more.