Cakes, pies & tarts

Chocolate Ice Cream with Walnuts

I’m leaving, I’m on a trip, voyage, viaje, viaggio… off to Italy, La Toscana… the craddle for Pizza, Risotto, Pasta, Parmesano, Mortadela, Chianti, Mozzarela, Lambrusco, Panettone and Gelato!!!! I’m off to learn what THE DOLCE FAR NIENTE means, how a real Pizza tastes, where Leonardo da Vinci was born; I can’t wait to see those cyprus on the hills, smell the scent of the country side, and devour the best gelatos in the world when I visit Firenze!!!!

I love everything about Italy: the language… so musicale, the gastronomy… absolutely delicious, the land, the people… Aaaaaahhh Assolutamente irresistible!!!! So, to get in the mood, I got this Kenwood White Ice Cream Maker IM200 to prepare gelatos at home so that my palate would get used to some of the best things Italians do ;D. I  want to show you the Chocolate Ice Cream with walnuts, sooooo good!

gelat de xocolata

The Kenwood model I bought - Kenwood Heladera, capacidad de 1 litro, 4- 6 W, color blanco - is slightly different from the American, but I guess they both prepare great Ice creams! Here you have some tips to get the best out of your machine:

  1. Make sure is 1 liter capacity.
  2. Get the recipient that goes into the freezer inside a plastic bag first and then keep in the freezer for at least 24 hours.
  3. Place it somewhere where it can stand on its bottom.
  4. Always pour the mixture of the ice cream when the machine is already working.
  5. To avoid crystallization, you should learn how to prepare inverted sugar (it’s really easy. I’m giving you the directions below)
  6. If the mixture of the ice cream doesn’t get the texture you like, don’t worry, place it inside a tapper in the freezer and remove with a fork every two hours to get the texture you want.
  7. Get a cooking thermometer.

These are some of the tricks I discovered when using my ice cream machine… that’s the way we all learn, isn’t it? It’s full of ice cream recipes in the internet, or if you wish, there’s also lots of books… my recommendation: Locos por…los helados (Saber vivir), that’s an easy guide and recipe book for ice creams, sorbets, sauces and desserts with ice cream; the author: Fabio Asti… An Italian Sweet Chef… of course!

gelat xocolata i nous

And to finish this post and wish you a happy Summer holiday, here you have some of the songs I downloaded from iTunes to make the trip nicer :D.

  • Volare – Domenico Modugno
  • Il Mondo- Jimmy Fontana
  • La Bambola – Patty Pravo
  • Con te partiró – Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman
  • Il cuore è uno zingaro – Nicola di Bari
  • Senza una donna – Zucchero
  • Gloria – Umberto Tozzi
  • O sole mio – Luciano Pavarotti
  • Sara perche ti amo – Ricchi e Poveri
  • Non si puo morire dentro – Gianni Bella
  • Picolissima serenata – Renato Carosone
  • Solo tu – Gianni Bella
  • Tu vuò fa l’americano – Renato Carosone
  • Come Prima – Domenico Modugno
  • Che sera sera – Paolo Domenico
  • Sapore di Sale – Paolo Domenico
  • Mattino – Al Bano

chocolate gelato

Ciao a tuto :D. See you in September.

Recipe

Ingredients for 8 servings: 350 ml of milk,120 grs of black chocolate (70% cocoa), 100 grs of whiped creamed cheese 0/0, 50 grs of white sugar and 2 table spoons of inverted sugar, 80 grs of eggs yolk (aprox 5 eggs), 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. A bunch of walnuts, 3 table spoons of white sugar.

Chocolate ice cream with Walnuts

  • Melt the chocolate with the milk inside a pot. Stir all the time and be careful it doesn't burn. Beat the eggs yolk in a bowl together with the white sugar and the inverted one. Reserve.
  • When the milk starts boiling, keep out from the heat and stir until you get an homogenous liquid. Pour very slowly into the eggs bowl while stirring all the time, add the vanilla extract.
  • Put all the mixture back to the heat and control with the thermometer  stirring all the time, when it reaches 82ºC, turn the heat off.
  • Cool it fast placing the pot inside a big bowl full of water and ice cubes.
  • When cold, add the whipped cheese with a spatula and with slow and careful moves.
  • Place the mixture inside the fridge until it's completely cold.
  • Pour the mixture inside the ice cream machine and follow instructions.
  • Enjoy your home made ice cream... now you are ready to go to La Toscana ;D
  • Pour the sugar inside a pot, heat it and place the walnuts inside. Stir until the sugar achieves a caramel texture. Reserve.

How to prepare Inverted sugar: 150 ml of mineral water, 350 grs of white sugar, 1 small envelope of tartaric acid, 1 envelope of sodium bicarbonate (these two last ingredients can be found at supermarket and they perform a raising function when baking and preparing ice creams. The brand I used this time: El tigre.

Heat the water, when boiling add the sugar, stir until you don't see it any more. Add the acid tartaric (white envelope) and stir. Take away from the heat, when the temperature is around 50ºC pour the other envelope and stir. When cold, place inside a jar, close it and keep it for 3 months.

The use of inverted sugar will make the difference in your gelatos!!!!

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Comments

07/31/2013 · 19:01 h by bellini

Oh my dear enjoy your holiday and la dolce vita. Love the gelato. I see you are starting early with your Italian dreams.

07/31/2013 · 19:32 h by Núria Farregut

Thank you darling :D. Yes, a dream come true! Ciao Bella.

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