Gelato alla Crema (Vanillia Ice Cream)

Craving ice cream, the freezing and formless – but tasty and delicious nectar? Here is the homemade Italian gelato recipe!  Summer has finally arrived and it is time to fully enjoy gelato, Italian ice cream, the king of the summer season, sweet and refreshing!  Everybody knows ice cream, but few probably know that long ago, ancient civilizations served ice for cold foods for thousands of years. The Arabs were the first to use milk as a major ingredient in the IX century. Ice cream, derived from iced-cream, is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products and sugar, and often with fruits or other flavorful  ingredients.  So why not prepare this tasty treat at home? Homemade ice cream is easier than you think; it is genuine and healthy, because it is chemical-free,  as well as nutritious – both adults and children love it.  Recent studies show that ice cream can affect  your mood, helping you relax and sleeping better (but I think we all already knew that it just makes us happy!).  Vanilla ice cream is perhaps the most versatile and easy one to make. Its preparation requires a few common ingredients such as milk, cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla. It can accompany fruit or cake, be used in a delicious affogato al caffé (meaning ice cream “drowned in coffee”), eaten with berries or plain delicious just by itself!

GELATO ALLA CREMA (VANILLIA ICE CREAM)

Preparation time: 15 minutes     Chilling time: 6 hours       Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS

200 ml (scant cup) whole milk
200 ml (scant cup) fresh cream
80 g (scant ½ cup) sugar
2 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

DIRECTIONS

1. In a saucepan over low heat melt the sugar with the milk and cream. Add the vanilla bean. Measure the temperature with a cooking  thermometer. It should not exceed 85 °C (185 °F) otherwise when you add the egg yolks, they  will coagulate
2. When the mixture reaches the right temperature, add the egg yolks and mix well with a whisk. Cook in a bain marie for 5 minutes. Remove from heat
3. Pour the cream mixture into a bowl. To lower the temperature more quickly, put the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice and stir continuously
4. If you have an ice cream maker pour the mixture into ice cream maker and follow the instructions
5. If you do not have an ice cream maker, pour the mixture in a suitable container and store in the freezer for at least three hours. Remove from the freezer, stir and put back in the freezer for another three hours. At this point, the ice cream is ready. To give it a creamier texture blend for a few seconds and then put in the freezer for about 10 minutes. -Paola