Chocolate Cherry Stracciatella Gelato Food

CREAMY CHERRY CHOCOLATE GELATO

Steps:

• Combine half-and-half, sugar and egg yolks in double boiler; cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture reaches 185 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
• Remove the mixture from the heat; set pan in an ice bath.
• After mixture has cooled, stir in Amaretto, chopped cherries and grated chocolate. Refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Churn mixture in the ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions until not quite thick, about 20 minutes.
• Pour gelato in a freezer-safe container; freeze until set, about 3 hours.

STRACCIATELLA GELATO

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with ice water and set a smaller bowl inside. Set a fine-mesh strainer in the smaller bowl. Whisk the cornstarch and 1 cup of the milk together in a medium bowl until the cornstarch dissolves. Combine the sugar, milk powder, corn syrup, salt, and the remaining 3 cups of milk in a medium (4-quart) saucepan over high heat. Whisk to break up and dissolve the milk powder and heat the milk until it just begins to bubble. Turn off the heat and gradually add the milk-cornstarch mixture, whisking constantly. Return the heat to high and bring the milk back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium high and cook, stirring constantly with the whisk, until the gelato base thickens slightly, 4 to 5 minutes. It will get viscous but will not thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Pour the gelato base through the strainer into the bowl set over the ice water and set aside to cool to room temperature. Transfer the base to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least several hours and up to three days.
• Place a medium stainless steel bowl in the freezer. Remove the base from the refrigerator, pour it into a separate bowl, and stir in the cream. Pour the base into the bowl of an ice cream maker and spin it according to the machine instructions.
• Set a stainless steel bowl over a pot of water or fill the bottom of a double boiler with water, making sure the water doesn't touch the top vessel, and bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Add the chocolate to the bowl or double boiler and let it melt, without stirring. Turn off the heat.
• Take the stainless steel bowl out of the refrigerator. Spoon the gelato out of the ice cream maker into the bowl. Use a spoon to drizzle one-quarter of the melted chocolate over the gelato in thin strands. Use a large metal spoon or metal spatula to break up the chocolate strands and fold them into the gelato. Drizzle another quarter of the chocolate over the gelato and cut it into the gelato in the same way. Continue until you've used all of the chocolate. Cover the bowl and return the gelato to the freezer to firm slightly before serving. Serve it within a few hours of spinning it, before it hardens.

STRACCIATELLA GELATO

Steps:

• Place a 1-quart freezer container in the freezer.
• In a heavy saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, powdered milk, vanilla and corn syrup, and bring to a boil. Whisk until the sugar and powdered milk have dissolved. Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl, and allow to cool-or chill in the refrigerator-until mixture is room temperature. Add the salt.
• Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
• Shortly before the gelato is ready, melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl at 50-percent power, or set in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, for about 2 minutes. Cool to 100 degrees F (tepid).
• When the gelato has reached the desired texture, drizzle in the chocolate in a very fine stream while continuing to run the machine. You can control the stream by using a spatula for the drizzling. If the stream is too thick or too fast, the chocolate will form into clumps instead of flecks.
• Transfer the gelato to the freezer container and freeze for at least 2 hours to firm up before serving.