Recipe: Vietnamese Coffee Sundaes

1 cup granulated sugar

3 1/2 cups very strong hot black coffee

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk

2 cups light cream

1 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

1/4 cup dark chocolate shards, optional.

1. Mix 1/2 cup of the sugar in 2 1/4 cups of the hot coffee until it dissolves. Pour into a shallow lidded container and cool. In a bowl, combine the remaining 1 1/4 cups coffee and 1/2 cup sugar with cocoa powder; stir until the sugar dissolves to make a syrup, cover, and refrigerate.

2. Whisk together the condensed milk, light cream, crème fraîche, vanilla and salt, and pour into a shallow lidded container. Place both shallow lidded containers in the freezer for 2 hours.

3. Remove condensed milk mixture (ice cream) from the freezer, and whisk vigorously, breaking down the ice crystals until the texture is smooth. Return to freezer to set firm before scooping, about 4 hours or overnight.

4. Remove coffee mixture (granita) from freezer and rake the surface with the tines of a fork to form icy crystals. Return it to the freezer and repeat this raking every hour for about three more hours, until the texture is free-flowing but completely crystalline. At this point, it may be frozen overnight. Rake over again before serving to loosen.

5. To serve, place scoops of the ice cream into glasses or bowls, alternating each scoop with coffee granita. Douse with coffee syrup, scatter with chocolate shards, if using, and serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings.