Granita

Tokyo’s heat wave got me thinking about ices and I’ve mixed up a lot of granitas this week. They’re simple to prepare and taste delicious.
Viennese Coffee Granita
serves 4
2 cups coffee
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix the coffee, cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Pour into a shallow pan and freeze. Once an hour until it freezes, use a fork to stir and scrape the ice, breaking up the lumps.
In a separate pan, mix the milk, vanilla and remaining sugar. Freeze, scraping hourly as above. The milk will take a little longer to freeze than the coffee.
Serve the coffee granita topped with the sweet milky granita.
Blueberry-Ginger Granita
serves 4
2 cups blueberries
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 lime, juiced
Whirl the blueberries, ginger and sugar in a blender. Strain the solids from the liquid, using a fine sieve. To the liquid, add the water and lime juice. Pour into a shallow pan and freeze. Once an hour until it freezes, use a fork to stir and scrape the ice, breaking up the lumps.
Shiso Lemon Granita
serves 4
8 leaves shiso
2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, juiced
Roughly chop the shiso leaves, then whirls in a blender with the water and sugar. Strain the solids from the liquid with a fine sieve. add the lemon juice. Pour into a shallow pan and freeze. Once an hour until it freezes, use a fork to stir and scrape the ice, breaking up the lumps.