Chocolate Gelato
Chocolate Gelato
A classic chocolate gelato is a must-have recipe! This uses both cocoa powder and chocolate to get an intense chocolate flavour. The mixture of sugars and skimmed milk powder balances out the recipe to give you a perfectly smooth gelato.
A high end gelato/ice cream machine is really important here too, as the built-in chiller will maintain a constant cold temperature to ensure small ice crystal formation while the mixture churns. I use the Musso Lussino 4080 and I love it!
The gelato is best churned and eaten on the same day as the longer you freeze it, the more the texture will deteriorate as ice crystals form.
Ingredients
Method
Into a small dish, add the caster sugar and ice cream stabiliser and stir it together. Set it to one side.
Meanwhile into a large bowl add the chopped chocolate and set it to one side.
Into a medium saucepan, add the remaining ingredients - milk, glucose syrup, dextrose, skimmed milk powder and cocoa powder.
Place the pan onto a medium heat and whisk it until it 45C/113F. Then tip in the sugar stabiliser mixture and continue to whisk, until it reaches 85C/185F.
Immediately remove it from the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Blend it with a hand blender for 1 minute to emulsify the mixture.
Place the bowl in a sink full of ice water and stir occasionally, for about 15-20 minutes. In the gelato books it will tell you to cool it to around 4C/39F but that is tough at home so once it is around 12-15C that is fine! Cover the surface of the mixture with clingfilm and refrigerate it overnight so that the gelato base can mature. This will improve the texture and taste.
The next day, if you are using an ice cream/gelato machine with a chilling unit, turn it on about 15 minutes ahead of time to get the bowl cold. If you are using a stand mixer freezer bowl there is no need to do this - although note you will not get the best texture with one of these as they cannot chill the gelato to the correct temperature.
Blend the chocolate gelato base one more time and then pour it into your machine to churn. It will take anywhere from 15-30 minutes depending on your machine.
The gelato should be a scoop-able texture but depending on your machine, may need to go back into the freezer for a few hours to firm up. Scoop it into a container and freeze it. Ideally this needs to be churned and served on the same day so up to 6 hours in the freezer is long enough. As the gelato freezes, the sugars begin to re-crystallise which makes the gelato go icy. As the recipe has a stabiliser in it along with skimmed milk powder, we are doing everything we can to trap as much water too, but eventually the texture will deteriorate.
Ingredients
Directions
Into a small dish, add the caster sugar and ice cream stabiliser and stir it together. Set it to one side.
Meanwhile into a large bowl add the chopped chocolate and set it to one side.
Into a medium saucepan, add the remaining ingredients - milk, glucose syrup, dextrose, skimmed milk powder and cocoa powder.
Place the pan onto a medium heat and whisk it until it 45C/113F. Then tip in the sugar stabiliser mixture and continue to whisk, until it reaches 85C/185F.
Immediately remove it from the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Blend it with a hand blender for 1 minute to emulsify the mixture.
Place the bowl in a sink full of ice water and stir occasionally, for about 15-20 minutes. In the gelato books it will tell you to cool it to around 4C/39F but that is tough at home so once it is around 12-15C that is fine! Cover the surface of the mixture with clingfilm and refrigerate it overnight so that the gelato base can mature. This will improve the texture and taste.
The next day, if you are using an ice cream/gelato machine with a chilling unit, turn it on about 15 minutes ahead of time to get the bowl cold. If you are using a stand mixer freezer bowl there is no need to do this - although note you will not get the best texture with one of these as they cannot chill the gelato to the correct temperature.
Blend the chocolate gelato base one more time and then pour it into your machine to churn. It will take anywhere from 15-30 minutes depending on your machine.
The gelato should be a scoop-able texture but depending on your machine, may need to go back into the freezer for a few hours to firm up. Scoop it into a container and freeze it. Ideally this needs to be churned and served on the same day so up to 6 hours in the freezer is long enough. As the gelato freezes, the sugars begin to re-crystallise which makes the gelato go icy. As the recipe has a stabiliser in it along with skimmed milk powder, we are doing everything we can to trap as much water too, but eventually the texture will deteriorate.
Thank you so much !!!!!!
Hi Matt .. big fan n awesome recipes. Thank you.
Is there a substitute for Dextrose powder.
You can use all sugar but it will be much sweeter and firmer! Dextrose is important for the taste and texture
Thank you for your response..
Thank you so much for all your awesome recipes, we truly appreciate them!
Thank you!
Hola Matt..
Que estabilizante usas ?
Porque no Guar-gum ?o ksantan gum ?
Guar gum will be fine too!
Great series. Is there a difference between liquid glucose here and glucose syrup in the Salted Caramel gelato recipe? Thanks
Sorry the same thing! Just worded differently
I ordered all of the ingredients (and the Musso Lussino 4480), so looking forward to trying this recipe and upgrading from an old Cuisinart ice cream maker!
Send pics!
Thank you! Where do you buy the special ingredients: glucose, dextrose and milk powder?
All linked in the equipment list for you
Hi 👋🏽 Matt! I can replace dark chocolate with white chocolate?
I’m afraid not, the balance of fats/sugars would not be right!
Hi Matt, huge fan of your recipes & your vibe! Question – can use milk powder instead of skimmed milk powder?
I’m afraid you need non fat as you don’t want to add any more fat to the recipe 🙂
What would be the ingredients for vanilla gelato? Just replace the chocolate and cocoa with a vanilla pod or 2?
Use the mint choc chip gelato recipe but just skip the mint and add fresh vanilla!
hi matt can i replace glucose syrup with caster sugar?
I’m afraid not