I hope you had a fun filled 4th and are enjoying the summer. Today we decided to make the ultimate summer recipe – ice cream. Homemade ice cream is so much fresher and tastier than store-bought, and being able to control the ingredients that go into your recipe is an added bonus. I used a combination of organic cane sugar and stevia, but you could use coconut sugar, maple syrup… whatever you like! And the same goes for the milk… whole, low-fat, goats milk… they all work. We started by making a plain vanilla ice cream recipe, and at the last minute I got a major hankering for stracciatella. If you haven’t had stracciatella gelato before, you’re in for a real treat when you try this recipe. I fell in love with stracciatella at Gelateria delle Carrozze. I think I ate one every day for months on end. Because that is what one must do to really immerse herself in Italian culture, of course.  Unlike regular chocolate chips, the fine chocolate shavings in stracciatella gelato just melt in your mouth. 
More after the break! 

Before the summer is over, you must make this recipe. Okay? 

Stracciatella Gelato Recipe 
printer friendly recipe 

Yield: Serves 6 
Ingredients: 
  • 3 cups milk (any kind) 
  • 4 egg yolks (save the whites for a scramble in the morning!) 
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • Stevia to taste (I used about 7 drops of liquid stevia from Trader Joe’s) 
  • 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (about 1/3 cup chips or chunks) 
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil (or any other oil) 

Instructions: 
In a saucepan, heat milk over medium low heat until almost simmering (tiny bubbles will appear at the edges). Stir occasionally so that a skin doesn’t form.  
Meanwhile, whisk yolks with sugar until thick and smooth. To temper the egg yolks so that they don’t “scramble”, very slowly whisk the hot milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Whisk in the vanilla Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 185 degrees F, without boiling  (I didn’t use a thermometer, but you want to make sure the egg yolks are heated enough to be safe to eat).  Remove from heat. 
Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean glass bowl set in another larger bowl filled with ice. The ice bath will help the custard to cool more quickly. Now’s the fun part. Use a small spoon to taste the custard. Add stevia, if using, until the mixture is sweet enough. Cool until room temperature and then place in the refrigerator or freezer, covered, until well chilled. 
Pour custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Meanwhile, microwave the chocolate in a small bowl, stirring every 20 seconds, until just melted. Stir in oil to thin chocolate. When ice cream has finished freezing in the machine, slowly pour chocolate into the ice cream while it turns, in a thin ribbon. Turn machine off and finish stirring chocolate in with a spoon, braking up any large chunks. Serve immediately (how could you resist?!) or freeze for later. 
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