Homemade Gelato

 

This week’s creation are two flavors of homemade Gelato:  Salted Caramel and Triple Chocolate !   from Gemma Stafford of Bigger Bolder Baking

Gelato meaning  'frozen' is the common word for all kinds of ice cream.  It is a frozen dessert of Italian origin.

The “modern” history of gelato begins in the Renaissance with alchemist Cosimo Ruggieri, who is credited with creating the first gelato flavor at the court of the Medici family in Florence, the fior di latte. The architect Bernardo Buontalenti invented the egg cream gelato (gelato alla crema d’uovo); Francesco Redi and Lorenzo Magalotti made gelato famous by singing its praises and describing its ingredients.

Gelato in its modern form is credited to the Italian chef Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli who in the late 1600s opened his Café Procope in Paris and introduced gelato at his café, earning notability first in Paris and then in the rest of Europe. Thanks to his gelato, Procopio not only obtained French citizenship, but also got an exclusive royal licence issued by King Louis XIV, at the time, making him the sole producer of the frozen dessert in the kingdom.

In the 1900s-1950s, different innovations made the automatic production of gelato easier. The Motogelatiera was created, which was the first automatic machine that made gelato. Other innovations such as the batch freezer made it easier to store frozen desserts such as gelato. Around the 1940s, Bruto Carpigiani worked to create machines that would make the production of gelato safer and easier. Nowadays, Carpigiani is one of the biggest manufacturers of gelato machinery.  Today, gelato is known worldwide and Italy is the only country where the market share of artisanal gelato versus mass-produced gelato is more than 55%.

Here is the recipe:

The Easiest Homemade Gelato Recipe (No Machine)

Salted Caramel and Triple Chocolate flavored Gelato

from Gemma Stafford of Bigger Bolder Baking

Ingredients

Plain Gelato Base

2 cups (16floz/450ml) whole milk

4 large egg yolks , room temperature

¾ cup (6oz/170g) granulated sugar

1 cup (8floz/225ml) heavy whipping cream (36%)

¾ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Salted Caramel Gelato

½ cup (5oz/142g) salted caramel sauce (homemade or store-bought)

Triple Chocolate Gelato

2/3 cup (5oz/142g) chocolate ganache, melted

¾ cup (4 ½oz/128g) bittersweet chocolate, chunks

½ cup (3oz/85g) white chocolate, melted

Instructions

How to make Plain Gelato Base:

In a heavy-bottom saucepan, add the milk. Place over medium-low heat until it comes to a gentle simmer.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until smooth. Temper the eggs by slowly pouring in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. Pour this custard back into the same saucepan and place over low heat.

Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon for roughly 6-8 minutes or until the custard has thickened slightly and coats the back of a spoon. Do not bring to a boil or it will curdle. (See tips above about saving curdled custard.)

Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and let cool down at room temperature, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Add in salt and vanilla to the custard and mix. To cool the custard quickly place the custard in an ice bath (see video above). Once completely cooled, cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.

When the custard base is cold begin to whip the cream on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold the custard base into the whipped cream until smooth and thickened. Don't beat or you will deflate the whipped cream.

Salted Caramel Gelato:

Stir in the salted caramel sauce , taste and add more if desired. It should be both salty and sweet. Pour into your loaf pan and follow freezing directions below.

Triple Chocolate Gelato:

Swiftly fold in the chocolate ganache into the gelato base. Make sure the ganache is not hot or it will set when it hits the cold base.

Stir in the chocolate chunks.

Lastly, drizzle over the white chocolate and allow to sit on the base to set and firm up before stirring it in completely. Pour into your loaf pan and follow freezing directions below.

Freezing your Gelato:

Pour the gelato into a loaf pan or any freezer-safe container and place it in the freezer. Now, after 30-60 minutes go in a whip it up to break up the ice crystals. Do this roughly 2-3 times until it thickens up (see video above for step by step)

Allow freezing for another 4-5 hours or until frozen before scooping. If hard to scoop allow the gelato to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes until it softens slightly.

Cover well and store in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

Here are some pictures from the "bake":

Have a great day !