Coffee and Cream Granita

An easy, 4-ingredient recipe for coffee and cream granita that tastes like a frappuccino, that you can serve as a refreshing frozen dessert, or drink like iced coffee. You can make your coffee granita with regular or decaf coffee and adjust the sweetness to your taste.

You might also love this no churn White Russian ice cream, chocolate Kahlua and cream cake, and chewy coffee blondies.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Just 4 Ingredients. You only need brewed coffee, vanilla extract, sugar and cream!

Versatile Recipe. Make your granita as sweet as you like, just by adjusting the sugar. And if you’re looking to make it vegan, you can easily replace the heavy whipping cream with your favorite non-dairy cream.

Make Ahead. Coffee and cream granita keeps in the freezer for several weeks, so you can make it ahead of time, and just scoop some into a glass whenever you want iced coffee.

Light Summer Dessert. When it’s hot out, all I want are cold treats, not rich, heavy desserts. And this coffee granita with cream is just what I’m craving on a warm summer day.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

• Coffee. Start with some good-quality brewed coffee, either regular or decaf. Make it double strength, so that the flavor really comes through when combined with the cream.
• Granulated Sugar. Use as much or as little as you like, depending on how sweet you like your coffee.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Heavy Whipping Cream. Or any cream of your choice. You could even use flavored coffee creamers, but since those are usually sweetened, you should lower the added granulated sugar accordingly.

Instructions

• Before you get started, clear a space in your freezer for your baking dish to sit flat and level. Your dish needs to have at least a 2-quart capacity, because the granita will double in volume as it freezes and as you fluff up the ice crystals.
• Brew the coffee (or use prepared cold-brew coffee). I like to make my own, though, so I can make it double strength. Stir in the sugar and vanilla, then refrigerate the coffee until well chilled.

• Once the coffee is cold, combine the coffee and cream in your dish. Cover with the lid and freeze for 1 hour.

• Use a fork to scrape the ice crystals that are forming around the edge of the coffee mixture back into the center of the dish. Return the dish to the freezer and continue to scrape and stir it with a fork every 1 1/2 hours for the next 8-10 hours.
• As it freezes and you continue to break up the ice crystals with a fork, the coffee granita will go from liquidy to slushy to light, fluffy and sparkly.

• Once the granita is fluffy, you can spoon it into chilled glasses and serve it right away, or leave it in the freezer to serve the next day. You can also stop when the granita is slushy, pour it into tall glasses and serve with straws, to drink like a frappuccino or iced coffee.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long can granita be kept in the freezer?

You can freeze your granita for about 2 weeks. As long as the temperature holds steady, your granita will remain fluffy, although you may need to re-scrape it if some of it freezes more solid at the bottom of the dish.

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