Chocolate Gelato

I stumbled upon this recipe merely by chance. Since I had 4 egg yolks sitting in a cup in my fridge and no idea what to do with them, I thought I would give it a try. I love gelato.  The problem is, whenever I find myself in front of the freezer section of the grocery store they all look and sound delicious, so that I end up bringing home more than just one. In this recipe the technique of adding a caramel sauce to the chocolate before it is frozen makes this stand out from other chocolate gelatos by adding a hint of caramel. An added bonus is that if you bake, you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry already. Try brandy soaked raspberries with or without the gelato.

Ingredient Photo by: Claudia Alexander

Adapted from Marcella Hazan

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks

• 2/3 cups granulated sugar

• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar

• 2 cups milk (the higher the fat content is the creamer the gelato will be)

• 3 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chopped (at least 60% cacao)

• 1 ½ oz. unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder

Whisk egg yolks with sugar until lemon yellow. Bring the milk to a boil over medium low heat. Gradually pour the milk into the egg mixture whisking until combined. Set aside and melt the chocolate. Add it to the egg and milk mixture, whisk to combine and now add the cocoa powder. Pour back into the saucepan and cook over medium low heat for about 4 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside. Put the 2 teaspoons of water along with the 2 tablespoons of sugar into a small saucepan over high heat—swirling the pan occasionally. It happens quickly so keep an eye on it. When it turns dark brown copper color, immediately pour it into the chocolate mixture and stir until dissolved. Refrigerate it for an hour until it is chilled then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the instructions.

Photo by: Claudia Alexander