White Chocolate Raspberry-Swirl Gelato

Remember a few posts ago when I mentioned the 6 egg yolks I needed to use? Well, how about some gelato?! I was flipping through the pages in Frozen Desserts from Williams-Sonoma and as soon as I saw "6 egg yolks" as an ingredient I stopped. The result: White Chocolate Gelato! But I can't just settle for that. I made fresh raspberry sauce to swirl throughout it! The raspberries at the grocery store were HUGE and gorgeous. I couldn't resist the Buy 1 Get 1 Free sign! (Btw, Josh ate the other container of raspberries by himself!)

The verdict: In my opinion, this gelato is about a 4 out of 5. Josh gave it a 5. Actually after his first bite, he gave me the look that said it was a 5. I didn't think it tasted like white chocolate. Maybe I didn't use the right white chocolate. Next time I'll go for Lindt (my fave white chocolate). Also, after about the third bite, my mouth was totally numb and I could barely taste anything. I think a pinch of salt would help wake my tastebuds up. Other than that, it's creamy and delicious!

This photo wouldn't be possible without Photoshop. My good camera is still at the campground, so I'm using my old one.This is what it looked like before I Photoshopped it! =\

PS: Can someone explain to me the difference between ice cream and gelato?? Thanks! :P

UPDATE: Okay, thanks to the varying facts and contradicting answers I got on the ice cream vs. gelato topic, I decided to do some reading and quote an answer from a trusted source. From The Dessert Bible by Chris Kimball:

"Ice cream and gelato are almost the same thing—basically just flavored, frozen egg custards—except gelato has more intense flavor and a lower sugar level. Gelatos are most often made with assertive flavors such as hazelnut, coffee, chocolate, or combinations... In the end, I decided that gelato is nothing more than the Italian word for ice cream, with one twist—the flavors are intense, much more so than with American ice cream, which is mildly flavored by comparison."

In that case, this gelato desparately needs its white chocolate flavor bumped up! :D

White Chocolate Raspberry-Swirl Gelato (adapted from Frozen Desserts by Williams-Sonoma)
Makes about 1 quart
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 large egg yolks
4 oz. white chocolate, chopped (next time I'd use 6 oz.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange-flower water or rose water, optional

Raspberry Swirl Sauce (my own recipe)
1 6-oz. container of fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon Chambord or any berry liqueur
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

In a saucepan, whisk together milk, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, and sugar. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream until blended.

Place the saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves and small bubbles form around the edges, 4-5 minutes. Do not allow to come to a boil. Begin whisking the yolks while slowly pouring 1/4 of the hot liquid into the yolks. Then whisk the yolk mixture back into the saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (160-170 degrees F), 4-5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle the chopped white chocolate over the top of the custard and let stand 1 minute. Stir gently until the chocolate is melted and the custard is smooth. Stir in vanilla extract and flower water, if using. Pour the hot custard through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl and cool completely in an ice bath, 30-45 minutes. Once the custard has cooled to room temperature, remove it from the ice bath. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a “skin” from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours.

While custard chills, prepare the raspberry swirl sauce. In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients for the sauce and pulse until well blended. Pour through a fine mesh sieve, and discard the seeds. Refrigerate until needed.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Gelato is finished when it reaches the consistency of thick whipped cream. Pour 1/4 of the gelato into a plastic freezer container. Drizzle some of the raspberry liquid over the gelato and swirl with a toothpick. Continue layering gelato and raspberry sauce, ending with the sauce. Cover tightly and freeze for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.

Ice Cream Sandwiches in February?

Desparate times call for desparate measures. The weather has been incredibly nice lately. For the past few days it's been in or very near the 70s! I've had the windows wide open, and I even got out a pair of flip flops! To celebrate the wonderful weather that slowly started leaving us today, I made ice cream sandwiches. I finally used the Cuisinart ice cream maker Josh got me last year for my birthday! I made reallllyyyyy yummy coffee ice cream and sandwiched it between delicious chocolate sugar cookies. The ice cream recipe comes from one of the old-fashioned cookbooks I recently ordered from Amazon.com. The book is called Lee Bailey's Country Desserts. It has pictures of every single recipe! If the coffee ice cream is any sort of predictor of the rest of the recipes in this book, it's gonna be a hit!

First, I made the custard base on the stove.
I added an extra tablespoon of coffee granules and a pinch of salt. After chilling the base overnight, I froze it in my ice cream maker for 20 minutes.
I like to store my ice cream in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap pressed on top of it.
It helps prevent ice crystals from forming on it in the freezer.
Perfection!

Espresso Ice Cream (from Lee Bailey’s Country Desserts)
MAKES 1 1/2 pints

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
5 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2/3 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon powdered instant espresso, plus extra for sprinkling on top (I used 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules)
Pinch of salt (To wake up your frozen tastebuds; A tip from Alton Brown!)

Combine the cream and milk in a large saucepan bring just to a boil over high heat, stirring all the while (I added my instant coffee and salt at this point). Set aside.
Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until frothy. Gradually add the hot mixture, whisking, until well mixed. Pour back into the saucepan and cook over moderate heat until mixture coats a spoon and is thickened, about 2 minutes. Do not overcook.
Stir in the vanilla and powdered espresso. Place cling wrap directly onto the surface of the cream. Allow to cool to room temperature. Chill mixture.
Pour mixture into ice-cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.
Serve with additional powdered espresso sprinkled on top.