‘The Perfect Scoop’ Gianduja-Stracciatella Gelato

This recipe, adapted from our favorite ice cream book — David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop — combines gianduja gelato with stracciatella, the classic Italian method of creating chocolate chips in gelato. What’s gianduja? A Piedmontese confection, that combines hazelnut paste and dark chocolate; it’s the inspiration for Nutella. (Saveur wrote a good story about it some years back.)

READ: Cookbooks We Love: David Lebovitz’s ‘The Perfect Scoop’ is the only ice cream book you’ll ever need

READ: For a luscious treat this weekend, make Gianduja-Stracciatella (hazelnut-chocolate) Gelato

If the stracciatella, made by pouring melted chocolate into the gelato just as it’s finishing churning, seems like chocolate overload, you can leave it out for a smooth hazelnut gelato flavored more gently with milk chocolate. Either way, it is insanely rich and delicious.

Makes about 1 quart (1 liter).

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups (185 g) shelled hazelnuts

1 cup (250 ml) whole milk

2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream

3/4 cup (150 g) sugar

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

4 ounces (115 g) milk chocolate, finely chopped

5 large egg yolks

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 ounces (140 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (do not use chocolate chips); 70% cacao chocolate is perfect

Instructions

1. Toast the hazelnuts: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring them once or twice while toasting. Test a nut after 10 minutes by cutting it in half: It should be lightly golden brown throughout. If it’s not done yet, toast for two more minutes. Let the nuts cool, then remove as much of their papery skins as possible by rubbing them in a clean dish towel, a bunch at a time. Don’t worry if you don’t get all the skin off; just do what you can. Place them in a food processor or mini-chop and pulse till they’re finely chopped.

2. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk over medium heat with 1 cup of the cream, plus the sugar and salt. Once the mixture is warm, remove from the heat and add the chopped hazelnuts. Cover and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

3. Put the milk chocolate pieces in a large heatproof bowl. Heat the remaining 1 cup of cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Pour it over the milk chocolate pieces and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside.

4. Place a mesh strainer over a medium saucepan and pour the hazelnut-infused milk mixture into it, squeezing the ground nuts firmly with your hands to extract as much as the flavorful liquid as possible. Discard the hazelnuts, or save them to eat later as an evil treat.

5. Place the saucepan with the hazelnut milk on the stove over medium heat and rewarm it. Remove from heat. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in the warm hazelnut milk, then scrape the milk and egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan. Place on medium heat, and stir the mixture constantly with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. If you’re not sure if it’s done, dip a wooden spoon briefly in the custard and drag your finger on the spoon. If the line where your finger was stays bare, it’s done. Do not overcook. Place a clean strainer on the bowl over the milk chocolate mixture and stir it in. Add the vanilla, and stir until cool over and ice bath. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.

6. Have your chocolate-melting set-up ready when you start freezing the gelato: Put about an inch of water in a wide skillet, place the chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place it in the water. Be sure not to splash any water into the chocolate or it will seize when you try to melt it. Don’t melt it quite yet; just have it ready to go, as you’ll add it just as the gelato is finished freezing in the machine.

7. Freeze the gianduja custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Eighteen minutes or so before you expect it to be finished, heat the skillet with the inch of water and bowl of chocolate over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Immediately turn off the heat and let the chocolate melt in the bowl. You can give it a stir now and then if you like, but it’s not necessary; just be sure not to splash any water in. When the gelato is ready, with the machine still running, stir the melted chocolate till it’s smooth, and pour it into the ice cream maker in a thin stream. If it’s easier, you may want to transfer the melted chocolate to a measuring cup with a pouring spout first. Eat the gelato right away if you like it very soft, or pack it into a storage container and let it freeze a few hours until it sets harder.