It’s called an affogato and it’s perfect in its simplicity. All you need is a scoop or two of vanilla gelato and a single shot of freshly brewed espresso. While it’s pretty simple to make (pour the hot espresso over gelato), there are a few tricks to making an affogato great:

1. Don’t skimp on the ingredients. The gelato (or ice cream if you prefer) should be good quality and the espresso fresh. Experiment with different flavors if you like. Caramel is delicious and a flavor with a little texture like chocolate chip would work well too.
2. Make sure your gelato is very cold and scoop generously. Otherwise you will have a delicious bowl of cool soup. Chilling the bowl also helps.
3. Make the espresso immediately before serving. Part of the fun of this dessert is the contrast between textures and temperatures. The espresso should be hot and served in something easy to pour.
4. Optional: serve with a straw, unless you’re dining alone, in which case just put the bowl up to your face and drink all that melted deliciousness at the bottom. Waste nothing.