Chilean Café Helado is a beloved treat. It is common at birthday parties or special occasions during the summer. It is a celebratory drink that all Chileans love. Café Helado is so simple that you must use the best ingredients: brew an espresso, scoop a good vanilla ice cream, and use sugar and heavy cream.
Chile, particularly in its larger cities like Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción, has a thriving coffee culture with many shops to explore. They serve different audiences and purposes:
- Café con Piernas: A unique aspect of Chilean coffee culture is the “Café con Piernas” or “coffee with legs.” These are small coffee shops where waitresses in short skirts serve espresso shots and other coffee drinks to customers who often stand at the bar. The focus here is on quick service and strong coffee. Classic examples in Santiago are Café Haití.
- Specialty Coffee Shops: There has been a growing interest in specialty coffee in Chile. Many coffee shops now prioritize high-quality coffee beans and expert brewing techniques. In these establishments, you’ll find various single-origin coffee options, pour-over, AeroPress, and cold brew preparations. Some popular specialty coffee shops include Colmado Coffee & Bar in Santiago and Vinilo Café in Valparaíso.
- Traditional Cafés: While Chile embraces specialty coffee, it still retains its traditional café culture. Usually, a café is a space to enjoy mid-afternoon as a family after shopping, celebrating something, or meeting friends. You’ll find classic cafes that serve traditional Chilean pastries and coffee drinks. Examples of traditional cafés in Santiago are Tavelli, Coppelia, and Villareal.
- Cultural Spaces: Some coffee shops in Chile also serve as cultural spaces, hosting live music performances, art exhibitions, book readings, and more. These cafes provide a unique ambiance for patrons to enjoy coffee while engaging with the local arts scene.
The Café Helado belongs to the traditional cafés and is still very easy to find on the menus in Chile. It’s widespread to order a side dish of high tea cookies to enjoy alongside.
The Tavelli coffee store was my favorite stop when I lived in Santiago. I loved having Café Helado during the summer; it is the perfect treat before going to the movies or out with friends. Besides, the iced coffee includes whipped cream, and ice cream is a complete meal.
Visit our collection of Chilean desserts here.
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Café Helado Chilean Iced Coffee
A delicious treat, a Chilean version of a float.
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4
Ingredients
- 2 espressos (1/2 cup)
- 2 cups whole milk, cold
- 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar (for milk)
- 1 cup of vanilla ice cream
- 1 cup of liquid whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar (for the whipped cream)
- sprinkles, maraschino, optional
Instructions
- First, make the espressos and mix them with cold milk and sugar. Try, if you like sweeter, add more sugar, and refrigerate, but consider that ice cream is always sweet.
- Take the ice cream out of the freezer to make it easy to serve.
- Beat the cream by hand or with a mixer. When it starts to make waves, about 2 minutes, add the tablespoon of granulated sugar and continue beating until the cream is Chantilly and has soft peaks. Remember that the cream whipped better if everything: the bowl, the mixer paddles, and the cream itself are very cold.
- In long glasses or glasses, serve 1/4 cup of vanilla ice cream, add the cold coffee milk to almost the edge of the glass, leave 1 cm. free and add the whipped cream.
- Serve immediately. Decorate with sprinkles and a maraschino if desired.
Notes
To calculate nutritional information, I used whole milk. And I did not include the sprinkles or maraschinos.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Chilean
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 432
- Sugar: 24.2 g
- Sodium: 101.6 mg
- Fat: 34.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 21.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.6 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 7.4 g
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