Gelato Alla Vaniglia

Gelato Alla Vaniglia

A classic Italian vanilla gelato with a custard base, churned to a dense, silky texture that is softer and less airy than American ice cream.

Prep

20 min

Cook

15 min

Total

35 min

Serves

6

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 ml (2 cups + 2 tbsp) whole milk
• •250 ml (1 cup) heavy cream, fresh cream with at least 35% fat
• •150 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
• •6 whole egg yolks, about 110 g; free-range or pasteurized
• •2 whole vanilla beans, split and scraped; or 2 tsp vanilla extract at the end
• •1 pinch fine sea salt

Steps

1. 1 Pour the milk and cream into a heavy saucepan. Add the split vanilla beans and the scraped seeds, along with the pinch of salt. Heat over medium until the mixture begins to steam and small bubbles form around the edge; do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and let steep, covered, for 15 minutes.
2. 2 In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is pale, thick, and falls in a ribbon when the whisk is lifted, about 3 to 4 minutes.
3. 3 Temper the yolks: ladle a small amount of the warm milk mixture into the yolks while whisking constantly. Repeat with a second ladle, then pour the warmed yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk.
4. 4 Cook the custard over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it reaches 82 °C (180 °F) on a thermometer and just coats the back of the spoon. Do not let it simmer or boil, or the yolks will curdle. If using vanilla extract instead of beans, stir it in now.
5. 5 Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl, pressing the vanilla bean pods to extract their flavor. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface to prevent a skin, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, until thoroughly chilled (about 4 °C / 39 °F).
6. 6 Pour the chilled custard into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions, usually 20 to 30 minutes, until it reaches a soft-serve consistency.
7. 7 Transfer the gelato to a lidded container, press plastic wrap onto the surface, and freeze for 2 to 4 hours to firm up to a scoopable texture. Serve slightly softened, 5 to 10 minutes out of the freezer.