Chocolate Cinnamon Gelato With Toffee Bits Food

CHOCOLATE GANACHE FOR TRUFFLES AND CAKE ICING

Steps:

• Place the chocolate in a large bowl.
• Put cream and cinnamon stick (if using) in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to the boiling point. Add the butter and stir. Pour the cream mixture through a fine mesh sieve over the chocolate. Rotate the bowl a bit so all the chocolate is covered in cream. Let stand for two minutes. With a rubber or silicone spatula gently stir the mixture working all the cream into the chocolate until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and creamy. If using chocolate chips break up any little lumps with the back of the spatula. Add vanilla, coffee and grey salt if using and stir.
• If using as cake filling and icing: Cool the ganache to room temperature. If desired, you can take out about one cup of ganache and refrigerate it to decorate the cake with a pastry bag after it's been filled and frosted. Use about half the mixture to fill your cake. To frost the cake use a lazy susan if you have one. Put four strips of parchment or wax paper under the cake all around. This is so that any extra ganache will fall on the paper and you can gently pull them out. Use the rest of the ganache to frost the cake. Use a flat metal spatula to smooth the ganache around the top and sides of the cake.
• If using for truffles: Chill ganache for at least two hours. To make this as mess free as possible use food grade vinyl or silicone gloves and a cookie scoop. Scoop out the ganache, roll in your choice of toppings to coat evenly and set aside. Truffles can be stored in the refrigerator but should be served at room temperature.
• Suggested toppings for truffles: Cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process), finely chopped nuts, finely crushed toffee bits, finely crushed peppermint candy, cookie crumbs.
• Truffles can also be coated in dark, milk or white chocolate but that's another recipe.

CINNAMON GELATO

Steps:

• Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the pan's inner rim.
• Stir in the cinnamon sticks; remove pan from heat, cover, and steep for at least 15 minutes, or up to 30 minutes, depending on how strong you want the cinnamon taste.
• Beat the egg yolks, sugar, and browns sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until thick, about 2 minutes.
• The sugar will not dissolve completely, but the mixture should soften until it is grainy but gooey; set aside.
• Remove cinnamon sticks; bring milk mixture back to a bare simmer over low heat.
• Whisking all the while, beat about half of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture until smooth.
• Whisk the combined mixture back into the pan with the remaining milk mixture.
• Immediately reduce the heat to very low; if you have an electric stove, set the pan over a second burner just now set on low.
• Cook and stir constantly until mixture thickens to the consistency of very wet pancake batter turns a little foamy, and can coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 6 minutes.
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean, dry bowl; stir in the salt.
• Refrigerate until well chilled, for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Just before making the gelato, it is best to shock the custard even colder by placing it in the freezer for no more than 10 minutes.
• Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
• Serve at once-or transfer to a large container or individual serving containers, seal tightly, and store in freezer for up to 1 month; soften at room temperature for up to 10 minutes before serving.