Chocolate gelato
Hello!
I created this recipe in the very early days of my (in full disclosure paid) partnership with Copenhagen/Paris/Honduras based chocolate company Xoco Gourmet. They are the only chocolate maker who plant cacao trees for variety. Each variety has a unique flavours that their chocolate maker develops fermentation and roasting profiles to bring out. I wanted to create a chocolate gelato recipe that brought out the juicy, vibrant red berry flavours of the Mayan Red chocolate - but obviously you can use whichever quality dark chocolate you prefer!
A few things before we get to the recipe, I measure everything including liquids in grams. It is more precise than ml and I have my scale out anyway so it makes my life easier and my recipes better.
Regarding stabilisers I typically use a commercial blend (cremodan coldline 500), but you can make your own of 1 part locust bean gum, 0,5 part guar gum and 0,25 part carrageenan. If you just want to keep it simple, go with just locust bean gum. Or simply omit stabilisers altogether if you don’t plan on serving it soon after it is made. (the LBG reduces ice crystals in the finished ice cream, which is what gives ice cream that icy texture after a while in the freezer)
Chocolate gelato
Makes 1l
575g whole milk
50g heavy cream
30g skimmed milk powder
85g sugar (A)
40g glucose powder
15g sugar (B)
4g ice cream stabiliser or 3g locust bean gum
200g 70% Mayan Red chocolate, or other quality dark chocolate
Salt, to taste (always add salt! )
Add whole milk, heavy cream, skimmed milk powder, sugar (A) and glucose to a saucepan. Heat to 40C, whisk sugar (B) with ice cream stabiliser and mix into the warm milk. Bring mixture to 82C, add the chocolate and emulsify with an immersion blender. Season to taste with salt, transfer to a bowl over an ice bath and chill while stirring every once in a while.
Cover with clingfilm, transfer to the refrigerator to age overnight.
Churn in ice cream maker according to instructions, transfer to a container and freeze for at least 2-3 hours before serving.
Thank you for sharing! I remember making your other chocolate gelato recipe a while back. The other recipe calls for skimmed milk powder and glucose syrup which is no longer in this recipe. This recipe now uses dextrose instead of those. I was wondering if you can share why you made the change and what purpose do the old/new ingredients have. Thanks!