Gelato Joy

I hope you had a fantastic 4th of July weekend. Mine was filled friends, walks by the water, glasses of iced green tea, multiple hamburgers and this perfect Nutella gelato. After spotting the recipe here, I knew had to try it. It turned out unbelievably creamy and sweet and reached heavenly dessert heights when topped with toasted hazelnuts. Absolutely worthy of long weekend indulging.


Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato
Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis and Food Network

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed, for garnish

In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves. (My batch didn't quite want to dissolve, so I ran it through the blender. Problem solved.) Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze. To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with toasted hazelnuts. Makes one quart.