Cinnamon Gelato

You gotta love TV. Not the watching it, per se. The being on it. Because it's always something. Particularly when you get Bruce and me on set. There's no telling what will happen. Remind me to tell you about the first time I got bleeped on air. (Ugh.) Or the time I dissed Barbara Walters to her face on The View. (Ugh again.) It's amazing we ever get on TV at all. Or another book contract.

But despite my big mouth, I guess it's pretty easy to get on when you're making gelato--as we did this week on WTNH in New Haven.

For those who may not know, gelato is ice cream without the cream. It's made with whole milk--and lots of whole eggs. Tons of them. Which gives it this eggy, rich feel.

But there's a fly in the ointment (or the custard, as it were). Italian whole milk production has a higher butter fat content than American milk production. Italian milk runs about 3.7% cream. It differs state by state in the U. S., with most running around 3% and California's (the nation's largest dairy state) running slightly higher. (Lucky ducks in California with their richer milk!)

Anyway, the long and short of all this is that you need to add a little cream to get that Italian "mouthfeel." (That's the technical term, by the way. And no jokes, please. This is a family blog.)

So let's get to it.

First, put 2 1/4 cups whole milk, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and four 4-inch cinnamon sticks in a large saucepan. Heat it all over medium-low heat, just until little bubbles fizz around the pan's inner rim. Cover the pan, remove it from the heat, and let it steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat 5 large egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. The mixture should be gooey but still a bit grainy.

Remove the cinnamon sticks from the milk mixture, discard them, and reheat the milk over medium heat until those bubbles fizz again.

Beat about half the milk mixture into the egg-yolk mixture until smooth, then beat this combined mixture back into the remaining milk mixture in the pan.

Set the saucepan over very low heat and cook, stirring constantly, just until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, perhaps 6 minutes. Don't cook it too long or you'll have scrambled eggs. But don't be shy about cooking it until it's thick and silky, almost velvety. It's a fine line and you have to stir constantly.

Pour this mixture into a container and set in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Well, preferably overnight because the colder it is, the less air will get beaten into it--and the creamier the ice cream will be.

Later, freeze it in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. For the best consistency, put the dasher, lid, and any other parts of the machine into the freezer for 15 minutes to chill them down before making the ice cream, thereby allowing less air to get whipped into the mix as it freezes more quickly.

If you want to know more about gelato or lots of frozen desserts, check out our tome on the matter, available here.

And that's about all there is to it. Except for the silliness. If you want to see how it went down this week, including my little gaffe about Sandra Lee, check it out right here on the blog.

Comments

[Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial]

Sigh. Family blog? From the guys who wrote "Pork, obsession with the hindquarter"? Mark, you little hollyhock, you... ;-)

Loved the clip, and the icecream looks most appealing, even in the midst of our cold Sydney winter...

[Mark Scarbrough]

I want to be in Sydney right now!

M.

[John]

We were in Europe recently but forgot to taste the Gelato while we were there. Thanks for the recipe as we are now trying to learn how to make it from home.