Homemade Dark Chocolate Gelato

Preparing dark chocolate gelato at home with the ice cream maker is simple and fun and, with this recipe, you will get a creamy and tasty dark chocolate gelato/Italian ice cream. Chocolate gelato- as we know – is among the most loved flavors if not the most popular with adults and children. It can be prepared in many different ways, with or without eggs, with a higher or lower percentage of cream, and using melted chocolate or cocoa powder.

We only use 75% dark chocolate and 3 egg yolks. In this way, the part of fat given by the cream and eggs will guarantee you very creamy gelato, less susceptible to hardening in the home freezer than a more “light” gelato, but obviously also quite caloric.

Ingredients

If you are celiac, check that the chocolate has the word “gluten-free” on the label.

• 3 yolks

• 120 g = 1/2 cup of sugar

• 150 g = 6 oz. 75% dark chocolate

• 250 ml = 1 cup fresh liquid whipping cream

• 250 ml = 1 cup of whole milk

Tools

• 1 pan with a thick bottom

• 1 electric whisk

• 1 glass of the blender or 1 bowl

• 1 Ice cream maker

To prepare chocolate gelato with the ice cream maker, prepare the mixture a few hours in advance so that it has time to cool in the refrigerator before being placed in the ice cream maker. This is even more important if you have an ice cream maker than those with a basket that goes into the freezer, which absolutely must not be filled with a mixture that is still warm, otherwise, the ice cream will be successful. In this case, obviously, remember to put the basket in the freezer at least the night before.

Coarsely chop the dark chocolate with a knife .

Shell the egg yolks in a bowl and add the sugar .

A little trick to whisk the egg yolks well with the sugar even when you use small quantities is to do it in the glass of the blender, using a long and light electric whisk such as those that are often supplied with the blender itself. Whip them for about 2 minutes, until they are clear . Keep them aside

In a thick-bottomed pan, heat the milk with the cream until it just comes to a boil . Then add the chopped chocolate and melt it over very low heat .

This is the most delicate step in the preparation of chocolate ice cream with the ice cream maker: add the eggs a little at a time, stirring constantly with a whisk or a spoon and keeping the flame to a minimum, to avoid making the eggs thicken.

If you have a cooking thermometer, you can check that the temperature reaches 85 °C and keep it for at least 3 minutes, so that the yolks are pasteurized. If you don’t have it, check that the mixture comes to veil the spoon

After the cooking time has elapsed, turn off the heat. Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool. To speed up the operation, I inserted the bowl into a larger one, after filling it with cold water. Once it reaches room temperature, place the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

When the mixture has cooled down properly, pour it into the ice cream maker basket and set the most suitable program, following the instructions in the manual of your ice cream maker. I, with a self-refrigerating ice cream maker, usually set the one-hour program, but after 35 minutes I often check the gelato to see if it is ready. It usually takes around 40 minutes, but it depends a lot on the ice cream makers and how long we have allowed the mixture to cool.

When your chocolate gelato is firm and consistent, you can turn it off .