Ice Coffee Persian Style (Cafè Gelasè)

With this incredibly sunny and warm February weather, I thought it’s not too early in the year to share my ice coffee recipe with you.

Probably every nation has its own take on ice coffee and of course there also is a Persian version, which we call Cafè Gelasè. It’s an especially indulgent variation of the coffee dessert, making it a delicious Sunday afternoon treat or a special dessert.

The first time I had Cafè Gelasè was with my dad at the Sheraton Hotel in Tehran. I was only about six years old but I can still remember the sweet taste of chocolate and coffee, so smooth and cold! “Six years old?!”, you might say. Well, in Iran there’s no such thing as too young for tea or coffee. 😀

You can prepare your ice coffee with chocolate or vanilla ice cream, or you could try another flavour like caramel. You can also go wild with syrup flavours and toppings. There are so many options! Let me know in the comments which flavour combo you came up with!

Ingredients (for 2 glasses)

400ml milk (2 cups)

4 tsp instant coffee (I used decaf)

4 tsp sugar (or as much/little as you like)

4 scoops chocolate or vanilla ice cream

Chocolate syrup

Spray cream (or whipped cream)

Time

Prep: 10 min

Cool: 2 h

Method

Prep the coffee

Transfer the milk in into a small pan. Add the instant coffee and sugar and put it over low heat.

I use decaf instant coffee in case I decide to have my ice coffee at a time that I don’t want any more caffeine intake.

Once the coffee and sugar have dissolved, turn off the heat and let the coffee cool down. When it has reached room temperature, transfer it into cups, cover them, and let the coffee cool further in the fridge.

Approx. 10 minutes before serving you can put the serving glasses in the freezer to get them nice and cold.

If you want to whip your own cream, do it now.

Assemble your ice coffee

Pour some chocolate syrup in the cold glasses, so it sticks to the inside of the glass. Add two scoops of ice cream each, pour the cold coffee on top, and top up with spray cream or whipped cream.

Top up with some more chocolate syrup if you like. You can garnish your ice coffee with crushed walnuts, pistachios, coffee beans, or anything you like.

Enjoy!

You can print the recipe below for later, or pin it to your recipe board here!

I hope you enjoyed preparing and drinking your ice coffee! Are you a vanilla or chocolate person? Let me know which ice cream you used in the comments!

Click here for more delicious dessert ideas! Bon apetit!