Homemade Strawberry Gelato

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gelato 2.jpg

Our 13-year-old daughter has been on a baking kick lately, looking through every recipe she can in order to find one she thinks she can tackle on her own. But it started feeling a bit warm lately and turning on the oven didn’t seem so appealing. Instead she decided to test her skills at making a frozen dessert - Gelato. And we were ALL for it.

With a bunch of beautiful strawberries in our fridge, it wasn’t too hard for her to select this recipe straight from Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking blog. It’s a helpful site with a video as well that helped walk her through the steps.

We didn’t get that far in terms of video recording her process, but here is the recipe along with some pictures grabbed of some of the steps. The result is a treat that is not overwhelmingly sweet, but that has a nice subtle flavor and creamy texture. All and all it takes about 8 to 10 hours of chilling so it was done just in time for us to enjoy the next day as a fresh dessert on the back deck in the sun.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups whole milk

  • 4 large egg yolks, room temperature

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

  • 3⁄4 teaspoon salt

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 1 1/4 cups strawberries, pureed

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Equipment

  • Blender or food processor

  • Heavy bottomed sauce pot

  • Several mixing bowls

  • Silicone spatula

  • Sieve or strainer

  • Ice for the ice bath (we actually used ice packs)

  • A large bowl for the ice bath

  • Stand mixer or hand mixer to whip the cream

  • Loaf pan or casserole dish. Ours was 6” x 8” x 2”

  • Plastic wrap

Procedure

  • Puree the strawberries.

  • Separate the eggs, keeping the yolks in a bowl to use for the recipe. (The egg whites can be saved and added to your morning omelet)!

  • Pour the milk into a heavy-bottom saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir occasionally and allow it to come to a gentle simmer. This is identified by steam coming off the milk, but only a slight hint of bubbles around the edge where the milk hits the pot.

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

  • Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula 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.

  • Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a clean bowl

  • Place the bowl into an ice bath and let cool down to room temperature, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Add in salt and vanilla to the custard and mix. Once completely cooled, cover and refrigerate 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.

  • Stir together the pureed strawberries and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Then, stir this into the gelato base.

  • Pour the gelato into a loaf pan, casserole dish, or any freezer-safe container and place it in the freezer. After about 30-60 minutes, use a silicone spatula to whip it up to break up the ice crystals. Do this roughly 2-3 times until it thickens up.

  • Place it back in the freezer for another 4-5 hours or until frozen before scooping. If it’s 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.