Gluten-free Mint Choc Chip Gelato
Photography by Simeon Crofts
DIETARY – Vegetarian/Gluten-free/Nut-free
Recently I was given the opportunity to road test an ice cream maker from online homeware store House and, being married to an ice cream fanatic, I couldn’t turn down the chance to master his favourite flavour: mint choc chip. It’s certainly a controversial flavour that frequently divides the room. You want a creamy ice cream with a delicious, well balanced mint flavour (no toothpaste taste here!) And plenty of dark chocolate with every mouthful. First, I wanted to decide how to achieve that creamy taste and texture, so I needed to pick: ice cream or gelato?
Gelato literally translates to cream but, interestingly, actually has a higher ratio of milk to cream, unlike ice cream, which has a higher ratio of cream to milk. Gelato is also made with fewer eggs or even no eggs at all and is generally churned low and slow, incorporating less air, which gives it a denser mouthfeel. I decided the only way to know which is better is to experiment and make both. I made a batch of ice cream and gelato and trialled using mint leaves to see if I could get a more natural flavour. The result: mint leaves actually produced a very mild flavour that was nowhere near as punchy or as nice as peppermint extract. Peppermint extract is still naturally derived and, therefore, tastes natural, unlike the artificial taste of a peppermint flavour essence, so be sure to pick the right one off the supermarket shelf
Both the ice cream and gelato came out creamy – no surprises there! So, I decided to combine a little bit of both for my recipe. I still used a custard base for my gelato, which contains eggs and is more traditionally found in an ice cream recipe, but with a higher milk-to-cream ratio that makes it more of a gelato. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, don’t worry, I have included how to make this recipe with the good old-fashioned freezer method in the instructions below. Enjoy!
Gluten-free Mint Choc Chip Gelato
Ingredients
- 2 cups (460ml) whole milk
- 1 cup (235ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (210g) caster sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2.5 tsp peppermint essence
- 2-3 drops green food colouring (optional)
- 100g dark chocolate
Method
- In a saucepan, heat the milk and cream until steaming, but not boiling, and cook for around 2-3 minutes, continually stirring. Remove from the heat and pour into a clean bowl.
- Then, whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy – around 3 minutes.
- Slowly add the cream mixture, whisking in between each addition.
- Put the mix back on to the heat, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to steam. Then, turn the heat down a little and whisk for around 5 minutes until thickened. It’s ready when it coats the back of a spoon. Ensure the mix does not reach boiling point otherwise it will curdle and turn into scrambled eggs!
- Remove from the heat and pour into a clean bowl submerged in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Allow to cool for 30-60 minutes at room temperature, then stir in your peppermint essence and put in the fridge for at least 3 hours or, better yet, overnight to chill thoroughly. Once chilled, you can add a couple of drops of green food colouring if desired to give that classic mint appearance.
- Add to the ice cream machine and churn according to your machine settings. Alternatively, if you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can freeze it in a tub until almost set (4-6 hours), then transfer it to a large bowl and beat with an electric hand or stand mixer for a few minutes until smooth. This breaks up any ice crystals. Return to your tub and freeze again.
- When the ice cream is ready, melt your dark chocolate and pour over. Stir vigorously. The chocolate will harden as soon as it hits the ice cream, so give it a good mix to ensure even distribution.