Chocolate Macadamia Nut Gelato
Servings: 5 cups
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups heavy cream
- 2¼ cups whole milk divided
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread we used Nutella
- ¾ cup macadamia nuts finely chopped
Instructions
- Combine cream and 1½ cups of whole milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
- While the cream/milk mixture is heating, combine the remaining ¾ cup whole milk, cornstarch, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- As soon as the cream/milk mixture comes to a simmer, add the milk/sugar mixture and stir to combine.
- Whisk in the Nutella and keep stirring until this mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the mixture thickens and you can coat the back of the spoon. This can take 10 to 15 minutes, depending on your stovetop.
- Remove the pan from the heat and cool to room temperature. The recipe says to strain this mixture, and we did, but I’m not sure to what avail. There was nothing in the mix that was strained out. I would appreciate hearing from you if anyone has a reason for this.
- Cover the bowl and stick into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. I read somewhere that the longer you let this mixture sit, the more the flavors incorporate. We could only wait about 4 hours.
- According to the instruction manual, “chilling the mixture is not required….but this step will prevent any ice or fat crystals from forming during the freezing process for resting it in a chilled environment helps bind the ingredients together.”
- Before adding the chilled mixture to the gelato maker, re-whisk to ensure all the ingredients are well combined.
- Follow the instructions provided by your manufacturer’s booklet for the right amount of time. My machine said to process for about 30 minutes and add the chopped nuts after 25 minutes. The gelato will be soft and creamy and delicious, but if you want it firmer, like I do, stick it back into the freezer for about 2 hours.
- You “should” remove it from the freezer 15 minutes before serving if you can wait that long. I could not.
Notes
This stuff is amazingly good and you know because it doesn't have as much air in it as regular ice cream. A little goes a long way.