Chocolate Gelato

 



I wanted to try an eggless ice ceam recipe see how it compares with the  custard base one in terms of creaminess & smoothness. This eggless recipe using constarch made very creamy ice cream indeed but it had a slight 'chalky' mouthfeel. I don't know why, probably due to the use of  cocoa powder or it could be due to undercooking the cornstarch. This ice cream was also a little icy and rock hard after freezing and had to be left out a while before serving, but hey, I made this without an ice cream maker!  Misgivings aside, this ice cream turned out extremely chocolaty, good for die hard chocoholics! My daughter remarked, "It's like eating frozen chocolate icing!" I think so too and one spoonful was enough to satisfy my chocolate cravings for the entire day.

CHOCOLATE GELATO RECIPE
(Recipe adapted from 'Cafe Fernando' here)

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream

1 cup cocoa powder

1 cup sugar (Reduced to 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon, I don't like my ice cream too sweet)
2 tbsp cornstarch
Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Bring 2 cups of heavy cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then remove from heat.
2. In another bowl, combine milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt and cocoa powder, then  add to hot cream. Return to stove and cook on low to medium heat until sugar and cocoa dissolve (5-10 minutes).
3. Set aside to let cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Process mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.

Note: I don't own an ice cream maker, hence I had to process the ice cream by hand. After Step 3 above, I poured the ice cream mixture into a container and kept it in the freezer until half frozen. Then, took the ice cream out and gave it a vigorous mix to beak up the ice crystals. Put the container back into the freezer again and repeated the process of 'freezing -mixing-freezing' about 3 times.

I scream, U scream, We all scream for Green Tea Ice Cream!

This is my first time making green tea ice cream and it is the best ice cream I've ever made. It's so creamy, it beats those from Japanese Restaurants hands down! Yup, HANDS DOWN!

My Daughter agrees with me too. I didn't need to offer or serve the ice cream to her. She just helped herself  to the ice cream and finished the whole batch within a couple of days. Heck, I got to enjoy only a couple mouthfuls.

'YUMMERS!' was what my Daughter said everytime she had her fill of this.

Found the recipe here as  I was trawling the net looking for a good green tea ice cream recipe to finish off the green tea powder leftover from the Green Tea Tiramisu I made. Now, instead of needing to finish of my stash of green tea powder, I need to buy more to make more of this delicious ice cream!

Green Tea Ice Cream
(yields 6 small scoops)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons green tea powder (matcha)
2/3 cup granulated sugar (Reduced to 1/3 Cup and I used caster sugar)
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup heavy cream

Method:
1. In a small bow, mix the green tea powder with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks and remaining sugar.

3. Pour the milk into a small pan and gently heat until it's just about to boil (You'll see some bubbles appearing on the edges. Do not let it boil). Remove the from the heat and mix a few spoonfuls of the warm milk with the green tea powder/sugar mixture in a small bowl. When you have a smooth paste, add it to the remaining milk in the pan, then gradually combine with the egg yolk/sugar mixture.

4. Return mixture to the stove and heat gently over low heat (taking care to not let the mixture boil), until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, strain through a fine sieve, and allow to cool completely.

5. Lightly whip the cream and then add it to the cold green tea custard.

6. Transfer the mixture to a large container and chill for an hour or two in the refrigerator.

7. Put the chilled mixture in the freezer and freeze until half frozen about 1 hour (you'll see the mixture is frozen around the edges but the middle is not). Remove from freezer and mix well with a spoon or fork (stir very vigorously) to break up the ice crystals, return the mixture to the freezer. Repeat this 3 more times as it freezes every 30 minutes (you'll find the ice cream gets stiffer) to ensure that the ice cream is smooth.

Note: If u have an ice cream maker, skip Step 7, churn the mixture according to your ice cream maker's instruction after chilling the mixture in Step 6.