Italian cuisine · Desserts & Sweets

Gelato alla Stracciatella

Creamy egg-yolk-based milk ice cream with melted chocolate stirred in, setting into fine shards.

Ingredients · for 6 servings

• 500 ml whole milk
• 250 ml cream
• 5 egg yolks
• 150 g sugar
• 1 vanilla pod
• 1 pinch salt
• 120 g dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Heat the milk and cream with the scraped-out vanilla seeds, the pod and a pinch of salt until it steams slightly at the edge, then remove from the heat and let steep for 10 min.
2. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar for 3–4 min. until pale and creamy, then slowly stream in the hot milk while stirring constantly.
3. Pour the mixture back into the pot and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 6–8 min. until it thickens to a custard that coats the back of a spoon – it must never boil.
4. Pour the cream through a sieve, remove the vanilla pod, and cool the contents quickly in an ice bath, then chill for at least 4 hours.
5. Churn the cold cream in an ice cream maker for 25–30 min. until creamy; without a machine, stir vigorously every 30 min. for 3 hours in the freezer.
6. Melt the chocolate with the olive oil, pour it in a thin stream, lukewarm, into the almost-finished ice cream while stirring so fine shards form; freeze for another hour and serve.