Caffè del Nonno: Grandpa's Cold Coffee Cream

In summer, many bars in Italy keep a cold coffee cream ready behind the counter, often sold as crema di caffè or crema fredda al caffè: coffee, sugar and cream whipped until it holds its shape, then spooned into a small cup. It sits somewhere between a drink and a dessert, and nobody in Italy seems bothered by that.

Miami's summer lasts most of the year, which is a good argument for keeping it on the board. The texture is what brings people back. It is thick enough to hold a spoon upright for a moment and light enough to vanish on the tongue, cold all the way through.

• Caffè del Nonno (Nutella). The chilled coffee cream with a chocolate-hazelnut side, smooth and airy, with the espresso leading. Order this one if you like a mocha but want it colder and thicker.
• Caffè del Nonno al Pistacchio. The coffee cream is whipped light with espresso and poured into a cup lined with pistachio cream, then topped with chopped pistachios and a drizzle of caramel. Every spoonful drags a little pistachio off the side of the cup, so the flavor shifts as you work your way down.

Begin with the spoon. The top is the lightest part, and on the pistachio version that is where the caramel and chopped nuts sit, so eat those first. As it warms, the cream loosens and the rest can be sipped. Leave it too long and it settles into a sweet, creamy cold coffee. Pleasant enough, but you will have missed the texture you ordered it for.

It works as an afternoon pick-me-up in place of an iced coffee, or as dessert after a panino. If you want pistachio coffee in a more familiar shape, there is the Espresso Pistacchio, a short shot with the cream stirred in, and the Pistachio Latte, hot or iced. For the other cold coffee on the board, the one that is half gelato, try the Affogato al Pistacchio.