Authentic Italian Gelato at Home

Ingredients

• 4 medium egg yolks
• 150 g (3/4 cup) of granulated sugar
• 350 ml (1 ½ cup) of whole milk
• 250 ml (1 cup) of heavy cream
• A little grated lemon zest or vanilla extract (optional)

Directions

Step 1) – Whip the egg yolks with the sugar at maximum speed for about 5 minutes, until you have a soft fluffy cream. You can use a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer. You can even beat them by hand with a whisk, but you need more time and the result is not as perfect as with the electric mixer.

Step 2) – Meanwhile, pour the milk in a saucepan and bring it almost to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes.

THE MILK MUST NOT BOIL

If you have a kitchen thermometer you can check that the temperature remains at about 85°C (185 F). If you don’t have a thermometer, take care to remove the saucepan from the heat or to lower the heat if you see that the milk starts to boil.

For more information read the paragraph below “Why Should Milk be Heated to a Maximum of 85°C (185 F)? The Pasteurization”).

Step 3) – At this step, transfer the egg and sugar fluffy cream to a saucepan. Pour the hot milk slowly. Keep mixing while you do it. In this way you are pasteurizing the eggs. With the exception of flour, the procedure is similar to that of Pastry Cream recipe. If you want to flavor your gelato, this is the time to add either grated lemon zest or two drops of vanilla extract or vanilla bean. Now put it back on the heat and cook for another 5 minutes

WITHOUT BOILING AND ALWAYS STIRRING

Then turn off the heat and add the cold heavy cream. Mix really well. Now you have a lukewarm mixture. If you have an ice cream maker with a compressor (that cools while churning the gelato), there is no need to cool the mixture further in the refrigerator. 

Now let’s show you how to make gelato with and without ice cream maker, so keep reading.