Italian Gelato Recipe (Vanilla, Chocolate and Pistachio)

This authentic Italian gelato recipe for the ice cream maker is a vanilla custard of whole milk, heavy cream, egg yolks and sugar, the base for my vanilla, pistachio and chocolate gelato. Gelato in Rome during the 70s was not as good as in the South, so I made it myself.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Step by step Instructions with images
• How to serve it
• Variations
• Storage
• Equipment
• Top tips
• Difference between Gelato and American Ice cream
• "Real gelato is not made with cream and eggs"
• Frequently asked questions
• Related
• Pairing
• 📋 Italian Gelato Recipe Vanilla Chocolate and Pistachio

If you think gelato in Rome is great, you probably never tried the Sicilian one, where artisanal gelato has a long-standing tradition.

The first sorbets were introduced in Sicily in the 10th century by the Arabs.

Over the centuries, the recipe for gelato has evolved into its present form through the influence of French and the refinement of aristocratic cuisine.

For more information, read the article: traditional Italian food by region.

Growing up in Rome during the 70s and 80s, the local gelato was not a real treat.

Especially after spending the summer eating the fantastic gelato from the South of Italy, you couldn't compare.

The Calabrian and Sicilian gelato was creamy and made with real ingredients, while the gelato in Rome was grainy and made with artificial flavors, very similar to the fragrance used in soap and detergent.

In the South they used fresh local ingredients and gelato was very popular throughout the summer, while in Rome during the winter Italians wouldn't eat anything cold and the fresh summer fruit was not available, so artificial ingredients were used.

The only good ice cream place was Giolitti in the center.

What we had in Rome was either a Cornetto Algida or a grattachecca, crushed ice mixed with Fabbri fruit syrup and fruit in season.

At least you could see the real fruit.

That is why, with time, I became an expert at making gelato at home myself.

The recipe I am sharing today is a smooth, creamy gelato you can mix with different flavors.

The base is a vanilla gelato recipe, and you can add chocolate, coffee, or nuts locally produced in Sicily.

Fruit gelato instead is made with a milk cream base and fruit juice, the same base as stracciatella.

Sorbetto is another version of fresh fruit gelato, but it has no milk, and you can find some recipes here: lime sorbet, Sicilian blueberry sorbet, pineapple sorbet with prosecco and uva fragola sorbetto.

Ingredients

This gelato recipe is made from scratch with fresh ingredients:

The base of each flavor is a creamy custard:

• Whole milk: you must use fresh whole milk to have the right proportions of milk vs. heavy cream. Do not use long-life or UHT milk.
• Heavy cream: Heavy or full-fat cream. It should have more than 35% of fat
• Egg yolks and one white
• Sugar: caster sugar is just regular granulated sugar, the one you normally use for cake batter.
• Vanilla pod: you could use vanilla extract, but a proper vanilla bean is much better. The little black seeds from the vanilla pod are the proof of an artisanal gelato made with fresh ingredients.

From this basic gelato recipe, you can make other flavors.

For the pistachio gelato:

• All the ingredients for the vanilla gelato
• Sicilian pistachios from Bronte: of course, they are the best. Otherwise, find a good quality locally
• Orange blossom water: if you cannot find it in your local shop, it is available on amazon

For the chocolate gelato:

• All the ingredients for the vanilla gelato
• Dark chocolate cocoa powder
• Sugar

Find the quantities on the recipe card.

Hint: for a lighter ice cream, you can use fewer egg yolks

Step by step Instructions with images

You need to make the custard and let it rest for a few hours or overnight, so it is best to make it the day before.

Making the vanilla custard

7. Let it cool down to room temperature or rest overnight in the fridge in an airtight container

Note: keep the temperature low so the custard only simmers, otherwise the eggs can curdle.

Making the Pistachio gelato

5. Let it cool down to room temperature and rest overnight in the fridge in an airtight container

Making the Chocolate gelato

5. Let it cool down to room temperature and rest overnight in the fridge

Making the gelato in the ice cream machine

1. Pass the pistachio and the chocolate custards through a fine mesh sieve

3. It took my machine 45 minutes to 1 hour to make the ice cream, depending on the room temperature

Hint: never fill the ice cream maker bowl more than ⅔rd

How to serve it

You can serve gelato with a thin crunchy cookie or fresh fruits.

Especially during summer, strawberries, peaches, and apricots go well with either vanilla, chocolate, or nuts ice cream.

I like it plain, but you can top it with chocolate chips, whipped cream, or colorful sprinkles.

You can serve this gelato with a flat cookie like Lingua di Gatto or with a tart or cake like: chocolate Caprese cake, Italian peach cake, peach tarte tatin, Italian apple cake or a pear crumble.

Remove from the freezer a few minutes ahead, so it is not too hard to spoon it and serve it.

You can also put it in the microwave for 10 seconds on the "Defrosting" setting.

To bring it to the table, I recommend placing the gelato into a Nambe bowl to keep it from melting too fast.

Variations

Once you have made the custard base, you can create additional gelato's flavors following these instructions:

• Coffee Gelato: Add the cold espresso to the vanilla gelato recipe just before putting it into the ice cream machine
• Tea gelato: add the cold tea to the vanilla gelato recipe just before putting it into the ice cream machine
• Almonds gelato: finely grind the sweet and bitter almonds with milk to make a smooth paste. Proceed as for the pistachio custard
• Toasted hazelnuts: finely grind the toasted hazelnuts and add them to the vanilla custard. Proceed as for the pistachio custard
• Chestnut gelato: you can buy the chestnut spread or make it as in the Mont Blanc recipe. Add to the vanilla custard and proceed as for the pistachio custard

Find the quantities in the recipe card below.

This recipe is not the gelato base traditionally used for fruit gelato.

A homemade gelato with fruits is made with a slightly different recipe and depends on the fruit varieties.

For fruit, you can try my strawberry gelato or one of my sorbets, the lime sorbet, Sicilian blueberry sorbet, pineapple sorbet with prosecco or uva fragola sorbetto. If you want another custard flavor, there is my stracciatella gelato.

Storage

Store your gelato in an airtight, freezer-safe container.

They should be stored at a temperature not below 0 F / -18 C, home freezers should be fine.

Consuming them within a week or two is best for optimum texture and flavor, although they can be kept in the freezer for a few months.

Equipment

For best results, use an ice cream machine.

It turns the ice cream while freezing it, with a slow churning process that prevents the formation of ice crystals.

I use a Magimix.

I wouldn't recommend buying a cheap ice cream machine as it can build up the ice around the sides, and you must scrape it off every 5 minutes.

If you do not have an ice cream machine, you will have to place your gelato mixture into an airtight freezer-safe container and stir the mixture every 15 minutes.

Once you make your first own gelato, you will realize that the investment in a good ice cream maker is really worth your while.

You will also need a food processor or a whisk to whip the eggs and a fine sieve

I recommend a Nambe bowl (or tray) to serve the ice cream on a hot summer day.

Nambe is a metal that keeps heat or cold for a long time. Place them in the freezer, pour the gelato, and bring it to the table.

You can leave the ice cream on the table as the Nambe will keep it from melting.

Your guests will have the option to repeat their serving without running in and out of your freezer.

Difference between Gelato and American Ice cream

This authentic gelato recipe is very different from American ice cream.

American ice cream uses only milk and whipped cream; it is called Fior di Latte in Italian.

The authentic Italian gelato is specifically called "gelato alla crema" and maintains a creamy texture and a more intense flavor as it whips fresh egg yolks with sugar, while fruit gelato uses less cream.

The gelato custard is brought to a boil to avoid any risk of Salmonella.

"Real gelato is not made with cream and eggs"

That is a myth.

Somewhere in the United States, 'gelato' came to mean an ice cream made with starch, supposedly with no cream and no eggs.

An article in La Cucina Italiana from the 1970s proves otherwise: gelato artigianale is made with fresh milk, eggs and fruit; it is the industrial gelato that replaces them with powders, refined fats and additives.

In Rome in the 70s the gelato in the shops was nothing compared to the Sicilian one, so at home we made our own, with cream and eggs.

In a round table on gelato in La Cucina Italiana, also from the 1970s, Dott. Meucci explains that since the time of Caterina de' Medici cooks used eggs to hold the air in gelato, without which gelato does not exist.

The eggs were later replaced with starches and gums for artificial gelato.

Frequently asked questions

Is gelato the same as ice cream?

Gelato means ice cream, and this is how we make it in Italy. If someone in another country calls another recipe gelato, that is her or his recipe, not the Italian one.

Why does gelato need eggs, and why do you cook the custard?

The cooked custard removes any risk of salmonella and stabilises the gelato. Whipping the yolks and the white with the sugar first is what gives the creamy body and the airy texture, the same technique we use for tiramisù. Do not take shortcuts.

Can I make gelato without an ice cream machine, and which machine do you use?

You can: put the mixture in the freezer and stir it every 15 minutes until frozen, so it stays creamy without forming ice crystals. The machine's slow churning is what prevents the crystals. I use a Magimix, and a good machine is worth the investment.

What cream should I use for gelato, and can I substitute it?

Any cream with more than 35% fat: heavy cream and whipping cream both work. Use fresh whole milk, never UHT. If you want gelato without cream, that is a different recipe made with milk. You can find it in my stracciatella gelato.

Why is my gelato rock-hard after the freezer?

Home freezers are colder than the gelateria display. Take it out a few minutes before serving, or give it 10 seconds in the microwave on the defrost setting. Gelato is best eaten the same day, and within a week or two for the best texture.

Can I use a chocolate bar instead of cocoa powder for chocolate gelato?

They make two different gelati. A chocolate bar brings its own cocoa butter: richer and denser, but you must chop it finely, melt it slowly with the base so it emulsifies, and rebalance the sugar, because the bar carries its own. Cocoa powder integrates faster and gives you direct control over sweetness and fat. Cacao powder works like cocoa, very similar. My chocolate-bar gelato recipe is coming to the blog.

Do I need stabilizers to make gelato?

No. Stabilizers like carob bean gum and guar gum are the mark of industrial gelato. They exist for shelf-life and transport. In artisanal gelato the custard is the stabilizer: milk, cream, eggs, sugar, nothing else.

Related

Here are some cakes to serve with this gelato:

Pairing

These are my favorite homemade liqueurs I serve with my gelato:

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