Homemade Chocolate Orange Gelato

Holly and I were in the mood this past weekend to get the ice cream maker out, and try some new recipes. We both were in the mood for chocolate gelato. I looked up some recipes in Bon Appétit, Cooks Illustrated and Gourmet. I also looked at a basic Ben & Jerry’s recipe. I decided to sort of meld these all together and get this recipe exactly to where Instead of just plain chocolate, I wanted to enhance the basic flavor a bit with a hint of orange. The end result was amazing! We will be making this new recipe I came up with, over and over all summer long.

Dan's Chocolate Orange Gelato

1 & ½ C whole milk
1 & ½ C heavy whipping cream
4 large egg yolks
¾ C sugar
12oz best quality bitter or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 TBS best quality pure orange extract, do not use imitation
Candied orange zest – optional

In a double boiler slowly melt 8oz of chopped chocolate over simmer water bath. When melted, cool to room temperature. In a large saucepan heat milk, cream and ½ C of sugar, until sugar is fully dissolved. Gently heat this mixture to 120 degrees if you have an instant read thermometer, about five minutes. Do not boil. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl beat the four egg yolks with the remaining ¼ C of sugar and orange extract. Beat until yolks are pale yellow and sugar is thoroughly incorporated. Mix cooled chocolate into egg mixture. Whisk thoroughly. Add milk/cream mixture ½ C at a time into egg/chocolate mixture, stirring well after each addition. If you incorporate the milk all at once, it will not mix together properly. After milk/cream mixture has been incorporated into the egg/chocolate mixture, place entire mixture back into saucepan and simmer gently to 180 degrees. This step is about six more minutes. Gently simmer until mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and refrigerate until completely cool. Once completely cooled, transfer to your ice cream maker and freeze according to your ice cream maker’s directions. Once ice cream is almost solid, mix in the remaining 4oz of chopped chocolate and orange zest, if desired. Once set, transfer to freezer proof container and freeze until solid.