Dark chocolate gelato. When my dad was in town for Father’s Day weekend, I had asked what he wanted me to make. He had two request – pizza and dark chocolate gelato. The pizza I made will be shared later but the gelato was out of this world!
When I was working for the Jacksonville Jaguars I lived pretty close to St. Augustine, which is the oldest city in the country for those unfamiliar with it. They have a famous street called St. George Street that has tons of old buildings that have been transformed into restaurants, shops and boutiques. Oh and it’s only walkable (no cars through here). So one weekend my dad visited and we were walking along St. George. There was this gelato place called Cafe Del Hidalgo that I had been plenty of times before and mentioned to my dad if he wanted to try. As he has a big sweet tooth, I figured he’d say yes. What I didn’t know is that he had never actually had gelato before! This was crazy to me as he’s just as big of a foodie as I am, but just has been around longer. Ever since trying it though, he’s been as big of a gelato fan as me, hence him requesting some homemade dark chocolate gelato!
For those that don’t know, gelato is Italian ice cream. It has a higher portion of milk to cream and eggs than regular ice cream and is also served at a warmer temperature so it’s silkier and softer. Because of less fat than regular ice cream, the main ingredient will really shine through, so in this case, dark chocolate. This gelato is not for the faint of heart if you don’t like dark chocolate, as it is rich in chocolate flavor. Again that was the goal of this as my dad loves dark chocolate. Hope you enjoy as well!
Other ice cream recipes you might like:
Dark Chocolate Gelato
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa), finely chopped
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup sugar
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and cream. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasional so a skin doesn't form. You want the temperature to reach 170F. Turn off heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and chopped chocolate until the mixture is completely smooth.
- While heating milk/cream mixture, whisk egg yolks in medium bowl. Gradually add sugar and whisk until mixture is thick and pale yellow. Temper egg yolks by slowly pouring 1 cup hot milk mixture, whisking constantly. Return egg yolk mixture to to sauce pan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until the custard reaches a temperature of 185F. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl and cool to room temperature, stirring every 5 minutes. Once room temperature, cover and place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
- Pour mixture into ice cream maker and mix according to manufacturer's instructions. (every ice cream maker will be different. Ours takes about 20-25 mins) Once desired consistency, pour gelato into a container and freeze in freezer for 4+ hours to get a desired consistency. (Note: you do not have to do this step, but gelato will be much softer and melt pretty quickly if you do not).
Ryan, of course this sounds sinfully good! I knew that Gelato is Italian ice cream but did not know how it is different from American ice cream. If only I were not on a dairy free diet for medical reasons. Sigh!