Chocolate Cherry Almond Gelato With White Chocolate Stracciatella Food

CHOCOLATE CHERRY ALMOND GELATO WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE STRACCIATELLA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine chopped chocolate, jam, cream cheese, vanilla and Amaretto or almond extract. Set aside convenient to the stove.
• In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine the milk, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt. Whisk over medium to medium high heat until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Let boil for 15 seconds.
• Pour the cooked base into the bowl with the chocolate. Allow to sit a couple of minutes and stir until the chocolate has melted.
• If using bars with nuts/fruit in them, steep for thirty minutes and then strain the mixture into another bowl, pressing down on the solids. Otherwise, strain straight away.
• Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the gelato base and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (40F). You can also do this in an ice bath to speed up the process.
• Churn the base according to your manufacturer's instructions.
• Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15 second bursts on medium power. Stir together with the oil until thoroughly combined. Allow to cool to just-barely-warm and liquid before using.
• Place the frozen berries, the sugar, lemon juice and salt into a heavy bottomed sauce pan.
• Allow to sit until the cherries have thawed and release some of their juices, about an hour.
• Heat over medium heat until the mixture comes to a gentle simmer.
• Turn the heat down to just high enough to maintain the simmer (medium-low on my stove) and, stirring occasionally, cook the cherries until the mixture reaches 221F.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the Amaretto or extract. Allow to cool then cover and chill before using.
• Once the ice cream has reached soft serve consistency, add in the frozen chopped chocolate. Then drizzle in as much of the stracciatella as you like in a thin stream.
• Layer 1/3 of the churned base in your container. Top with 2-3 tablespoons of jam and spread it out as well as you can.
• Layer in another third of the base, top with another 2-3 Tablespoons of jam and finish with the last bit of base.
• Run a knife back and forth up and down through the base and jam to swirl it together a bit more and smooth the top.
• Add some decorative stracciatella drizzles or not and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.
• Feed the Hungry Goddess in you. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE CHERRY STRACCIATELLA GELATO RECIPE

Steps:

• In a deep saucepan, combine milk, heavy cream and 1/2 cup of the sugar.
• Split vanilla bean open and scrape down the seeds from the inside. Add vanilla bean and seeds to the pot.
• Heat over medium heat, heat until bubbles start to form, but do not let it boil.
• Remove from heat and steep for 15 minutes.
• In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and the remaining sugar.
• Slowly add 1/2 cup of the warm mixture to the yolks, whisking constantly. Add another 1/2 cup from the warm mixture and whisk to combine.
• Pour the egg yolk mixture back to the pan with hot liquid, remove the vanilla bean and heat over medium heat.
• Stir constantly with a spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula, for about 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Cool at room temperature for 15 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Churn in an ice cream maker, following the manufacturer's instructions. (Make sure you freeze the ice cream bowl for the time needed). It took mine gelato 15-20 minutes to churn.
• While the gelato is churning, melt chocolate over a double boiler. Place in a zip lock bag, close and cut the tip.
• With the ice cream maker still churning the gelato, slowly drizzle the chocolate inside.
• Transfer to a container and swirl the cherry preserves. Freeze overnight.

WHITE CHOCOLATE GELATO

Steps:

• Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer at medium speed until the consistency of a very grainy quick-bread batter, about 2 minutes; set aside.
• Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan set over medium heat until tiny bubbles pop up around the pan's inner rim; do not boil.
• Whisk about 1/3 of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture until smooth, then whisk this combined mixture back into the pan with the remaining hot milk mixture.
• Immediately turn down the heat to very low (if using an electric stove, move the pan to a second burner just now set on low).
• Cook slowly, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of very wet, loose cake batter and can coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the white chocolate, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any bits of scrambled eggs.
• Refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• As you prepare your ice cream machine, place the white chocolate custard in the freezer to assure it is very cold, for no more than 10 minutes.
• Freeze the custard in your ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions.
• Serve at once--or transfer to a freezer container, seal tightly, and store in the freezer for no more than 3 days; soften at room temperature for up to 10 minutes before serving.

WHITE CHOCOLATE BAKEWELL (CHERRY AND ALMOND) FUDGE

Steps:

• Put the white chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan and warm over a very low heat, stirring continuously until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat.
• Stir in the almond extract and then the glace cherries.
• Line a loaf pan with cling film (saran wrap) and pour the warm fudge mixture inches.
• Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours, until completely set (ideally overnight).
• Then turn out of the pan and serve (this is a soft fudge so is best served slightly chilled).
• NB If desired, you can quarter extra glace cherries and scatter them over the top of the fudge before chilling to make it look a little more colourful!