Chocolate Gelato

Makes: About 3 cups

Time: About 30 minutes, plus time to chill and churn

Gelato is made with mostly milk rather than cream. It’s also churned at a lower speed than other ice creams, so despite its lower fat content, it is denser and richer with less air beaten into it. Most home ice cream makers don’t have slower settings, but churning for less time and adding a bit of corn syrup help emulate the thick consistency.

1. Mix the cornstarch with about 3 tablespoons of the milk to make a slurry.

2. Heat the remaining milk, the half-and-half, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry along with the cocoa powder and chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and a line drawn on the spoon with your finger remains intact for a second or 2 (see the illustration on page 324); this should take 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Strain the custard into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until it is completely cool, at least 2 hours and preferably overnight. To make the gelato, reserve ¾ cup of the custard and keep it refrigerated. Pour the rest into the ice cream maker and churn until thick; this will take a little less time than it would for ice cream. Pour in the reserved custard and churn for another 2 or 3 minutes or until it reaches the desired consistency. Freeze to harden the gelato as much or as little as you like, softening if necessary before serving.

PISTACHIO GELATO The natural color of pistachio gelato is yellowish brown, so if you want it to be green you’ll have to add a few drops of food coloring while it churns: Use a food processor to coarsely grind 2 cups unsalted pistachios. Add the ground pistachios to the saucepan with the milk and proceed with the recipe, omitting the cocoa powder and chocolate. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Strain just before churning, pressing the nuts to extract their flavor.

HAZELNUT GELATO Toast 2 cups hazelnuts in a 350°F oven until fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Rub the nuts in a towel to remove the skins and follow the preceding variation.

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT GELATO When you’re making the hazelnut gelato above, stir in 4 ounces chopped dark chocolate with the cornstarch slurry and proceed with the recipe. Or, instead of hazelnuts and chocolate, stir in ⅔ cup Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread after straining the gelato into the bowl.

The Three Stages of Ice Cream Flavoring

Since ice cream is just a liquid that you chill and churn, it’s easy to add flavors and textures. (Go to an ice cream shop and it can seem like there are more flavors than days in the year.) There are three different ways to add flavor, depending on what you’re adding:

1. Infuse the milk or cream

Helpful because it doesn’t change the body of the ice cream; best with a spice (think vanilla!), herb, tea, or other highly aromatic ingredient. Heat the cream to simmering; add the flavoring ingredient loose, in a tea ball, or wrapped in cheesecloth; let it sit off the heat for 5 to 20 minutes, depending on the ingredient and how strong you want the flavor to be; then strain.

▪ Whole spices, like cinnamon stick, cardamom, ginger, lemongrass, or vanilla bean

▪ Culinary lavender buds, lemon verbena, mint, thyme, basil, or other herbs

▪ Dried tea like Earl Grey, rooibos, or chai

▪ Ground coffee

2. Add to the base

Do this with liquids like melted chocolate, fruit purées, and booze or other ingredients that add flavor but don’t need to be strained, like ground spices. Stir into the finished base before you chill it.

▪ Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, or cardamom

▪ Almond extract, peppermint oil, or orange oil

▪ A shot of espresso

▪ Bourbon, rum, Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, or other booze

3. Swirl into the ice cream

Use with ingredients that you want to remain somewhat distinct rather than completely incorporated. When the ice cream is the consistency you want, slowly add these ingredients with the machine running; churn for just a couple of seconds, stopping before they’re fully incorporated. This is great when you want each bite to be slightly different, with a patch of chocolate chips or a ribbon of caramel or fruit, or if you want the ingredient to stay somewhat crunchy, like nuts or crumbled cookies.

▪ Lukewarm Rich Chocolate Sauce, any Caramel Sauce, Butterscotch Sauce, Dulce de Leche, any fruit purée, Fruit Sauce, Two Ways, or Balsamic Syrup

▪ Any nut butter or Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread

▪ Up to ¾ cup chopped toasted nuts, like almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, peanuts, and/or macadamias (see page 57)

▪ Chopped, minced, or crushed candy—chocolate-covered espresso beans, Peanut Brittle, Caramels (page 324), Peppermint Bark, Candied Ginger, Candied Orange Peel, or your favorite store-bought candy, for example

Crushed Chocolate Wafer Cookies, Gingersnaps, Sugar Cookies, Brownies, or other cookies or bars

▪ Pieces of Chocolate Chunk Cookie dough (if raw eggs are a concern, leave them out of the dough)

▪ Up to ¾ cup macerated or cooked fruit—anything from raspberries, strawberries, peaches, or cherries to sautéed apples or poached pears