Espresso granita

1.Combine sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, add coffee, Tia Maria and 2/3 cup cold water, then pour into a shallow metal cake pan and freeze until ice crystals start to form (2-3 hours). Using a fork, break up ice crystals and return to freezer, repeating every hour until completely frozen (5-6 hours in total). Makes about 1 litre.

2.Meanwhile, for vanilla cream combine cream, milk, vanilla bean and seeds in a saucepan and bring to the simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale, then pour over cream mixture, whisking continuously to combine. Return to pan and cook, stirring continuously, until mixture thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon (5-7 minutes). Strain into a bowl placed over ice and cool. Stir in Tia Maria and refrigerate until required.

3.To serve, spoon espresso granita into chilled glasses or coupes, drizzle with vanilla cream and serve immediately.