Granita is the Italian name for a very popular stree food. It is a semi-frozen drink, whose basic recipe is coarsely chopped ice with fruit-flavoured syrup. In Rome, it goes by the funny name of grattachecca.
The recipe below is a sophisticated type of granita, with chocolate and mascarpone cheese.
Ingredients for four people.
100gr (3½ oz ) dark chocolate
150gr (5¼ oz) mascarpone cheese
150gr (5¼ oz) sugar
1 small glass grand Marnier
Flakes of dark chocolate
4 good quality rich tea biscuits
Directions.
Melt the chocolate in a small pan on a low heat, then in a second pan, add two glasses of water, 100gr (3½ oz ) of sugar and leave on a very low heat for five-ten minutes, until you get a caramelized syrup. Take it off the stove and add the melted chocolate. Mix well and let it cool to room temperature, then put it in the freezer for three hours, but give it a stir every thirty minutes to get a coarse-grained texture (typical of a granita).
In a bowl, work the mascarpone with the remaining sugar and the milk, until you get a smooth and foamy mix, then put it in the fridge.
Crumble the rich biscuits and put each one of them in the bottom of four fancy glasses. Sprinkle with Grand Marnier and put them in the fridge.
Now take the frozen chocolate mix and fill the glasses almost to the brim, then top it with the mascarpone mix. Garnish with flaked chocolate.
If you liked this recipe I have two more suggestions for you. If you like mascarpone cheese and also the idea of a cake with layers, then there is another cake that has many similarities with this one: Italian tiramisu dessert. Here is a particular version of the classic recipe with a twist: tiramisu marsala (which is a fortified wine from Sicily).
If the part that you liked best is the one with the dark chocolate, and the part of cooking you really enjoy is the one where you eat, then say no more: a chocolate fountain is what you need. Find it all here at http://chocolatefountainguide.net: the best chocolate and the best food, how to assemble a fountain, tips to rent one and much more.