Italian · Dessert · Medium
Vanilla Bean Gelato
Dense, silky Italian ice cream perfumed with real vanilla bean. Simpler and more intense than any pint from the store.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Vanilla Bean Gelato, in 5 ideas
- Gelato has less fat and less air than American ice cream, which is why the flavor tastes so concentrated.
- Chill the base overnight; a fully cold base churns smoother and faster.
- Vanilla paste is a fine substitute for the bean and shows the same pretty black specks.
- Serve gelato a few degrees warmer than ice cream; extreme cold mutes the flavor.
- Let it sit 5 minutes out of the freezer before scooping for the perfect texture.
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 2 tsp vanilla paste)
- 5 large egg yolks
- Pinch of salt
How to make it
Directions
- Heat the milk, cream, half the sugar, the vanilla seeds, and the pod in a saucepan until steaming. Steep 15 minutes off the heat.
- Whisk the yolks with the remaining sugar and salt until pale. Slowly pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly.
- Return to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring, until the custard coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Do not boil.
- Strain into a bowl, remove the vanilla pod, and chill completely, at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Churn in an ice cream maker until thick and creamy, then freeze 2 hours to firm up.
Money saver. No ice cream maker? Freeze the base in a shallow pan, stirring every 30 minutes until set. The texture is slightly icier but the flavor is all there.