Coffee Granita A La Orange - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 cups very hot strong brewed coffee
1/2 cup sugar (or Splenda)
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
lightly sweetened whipped cream, for garnish (optional)

Preparation

In a medium-size bowl, stir the hot coffee, sugar, and orange zest until the sugar dissolves.
Cool.
Stir in the vanilla.
Transfer the liquid to a shallow bottomed bowl or square metal cake pan and place in the freezer.
Wait about 30 to 40 minutes, until the sides start to freeze, then stir the mixture gently with a wooden spoon, especially around the edges.
Put the granita back in the freezer and repeat the stirring every 20 to 30 minutes, until the mixture is grainy-frozen.
Transfer to well-chilled bowls - the chilled bowls are important, especially in summer, to prevent it from melting; in fact, chill your spoons too.
Serve, garnished with whipped cream if desired.