Made with quality ingredients such as milk, cream and eggs, this dark Chocolate Gelato Recipe is the best chocolate ice cream you'll ever taste. It's rich, thick creamy and authentic. Perfect for every chocolate lover. You'll love it!
It's summer and it's heating up and you want to enjoy good quality gelato. Made with a homemade egg-based custard you can't go past this recipe. Check out my Crème Brûlée Ice Cream or Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream for more churned gelato goodness.
This Dark Chocolate Gelato Recipe is made the traditional way by creating a classic chocolate custard that's then churned with an ice cream machine. The resulting quality far exceeds the time it takes. Believe me! You'll be transported to an old-fashioned ice cream parlour in the blink of an eye.
Made with cocoa powder and dark chocolate it's velvety smooth, creamy, decadent and addictive. You'll be making a double batch each and every time you make it!!
Gelato vs Ice Cream
You love gelato, and you love ice cream, but do you know the differences between the two? Whilst both are super popular frozen desserts, there are a couple of main differences to note.
Fat content. Italian Gelato and American Ice Cream both can contain cream and milk, it's the ratios that set them apart. Gelato has a lower fat content than ice cream, using a higher proportion of milk to cream. This in turn gives the gelato a smooth rich taste
Churning. American Ice Cream is churned at a faster speed incorporating more air into the mixture. This makes it light and fluffy. Gelato on the other hand is churned at a slower speed and this makes for a more dense, smooth consistency.
Temperature. Gelato is served at a warmer temperature making it easier to scoop. This also helps intensify the flavour allowing that particular flavour to shine through as the cold doesn't numb the tongue.
My preference will always lie with gelato, egg-based or not. I adore the smooth, dense mouth feel you get and the hit of intense flavour. It screams quality and indulgence to me. You get all of that with my homemade gelato!
🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Uses basic ingredients. All the ingredients are basic pantry or fridge staples. Nothing fancy, it's what you do with them that creates the magic!
- Simple to make. Making a custard that forms the base of the ice cream isn't complicated, it just has a couple of steps that I guide you through with process images and tips. You'll master it in no time.
- Superior taste. I love no-churn ice cream but there is absolutely no comparison with the elevated flavour of custard-based ice cream. It's well worth the effort.
- Has a perfect balance. The ice cream is perfectly balanced, rich but not bitter, sweet but not sickly, and thick but not dense. This Dark Chocolate Gelato Recipe is absolute perfection.
- Easy to customize. Enjoy it plain, run chocolate fudge sauce through it, add in crystallized ginger or even alcohol... basically the choice is yours.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
As mentioned, the ingredients are pretty standard, but to get the most out of them read on. Just a note though, as with anything you make that only has a few ingredients, the better the quality, the better the flavour.
- Cream - The fat content in the cream should be around the 35% mark. If based in the UK use double cream, the US use heavy cream and Australia use thickened cream.
- Eggs - 5 large egg yolks are used in this recipe. Not all gelato contains eggs, but inspired by the gelato of Northern Italy, I've included yolks in my recipe. Sounds a lot but it's what gives the ice cream its rich flavour and creamy texture.
- Milk - As with the cream, we want the fat content so go for whole milk.
- Cocoa Powder - I love to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder for that intense, earthy, rich flavour profile and colour. But you can also use unsweetened cocoa powder instead.
- Dark Chocolate - To accentuate the flavour I add in 70% dark chocolate to the custard. It's optional and I add notes below if you'd prefer not to include it. But I really recommend it if you want to elevate the flavour of your homemade chocolate ice cream.
📖 Variations
- Sea salt: Sprinkle on top of your chocolate ice cream recipe with flaked sea salt. Salt is renowned to pull out the dark chocolate flavour and is often used in tandem by chocolatiers.
- Hot chocolate fudge sauce: Serve scoops of this old-fashioned ice cream drizzled in Hot Chocolate Fudge Sauce. It's super easy to make and lasts for ages in the fridge ready to enjoy with any ice cream flavour.
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Ice Cream: Ok this is my kid's favourite, understandably so - it's incredible. Once churned, scoop the ice cream in layers swirling homemade Salted Caramel Sauce throughout each layer.
- Add berries: We all know that chocolate and any type of berries such as raspberries, cherries, and strawberries pair beautifully together. Stir some chopped fresh berries throughout the ice cream before freezing for pops of fruity frozen magic.
- Add alcohol. When the ice cream is churning, add in a couple of tablespoons of your favourite alcohol like Kahlhua or Frangelico for a boozy kick.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make Chocolate Gelato
My aim today is to show you that making your own gelato, with a custard base, is not intimidating. As long as you can whisk, you'll be perfectly capable.
I share process photos below and take you step by step so that you can visually see what is involved and take all the guesswork out of it.
What equipment will you need?
In terms of equipment, you'll need an ice cream machine to churn the ice cream. The benefit of churning is that air is incorporated into the ice cream base as it chills. It's this air that makes it velvety smooth.
You can buy inexpensive machines, such as my Sun Beam Ice Cream Machine that's 10 years old. As long as it gets the job done right?!! You'll use it on repeat in the summer, I bet.
Can you make it without a machine? Yeah sure you can. Just pour the cooled custard into an airtight container and freezer. Stir it every hour or so to remove ice crystals. But it won't have the same texture or flavour as a real gelato.
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
Make the Chocolate Custard
STEP 1: Heat the milk and cream gently. Cut the vanilla pod in half and run the knife along the inside of both halves scraping the vanilla beans out (Image 1). Add the vanilla beans, pod, milk and cream into a heavy-based saucepan and set over low heat on the stovetop (Image 2).
Heat the mixture until it's steaming and you can see some bubbles appear around the edges of the saucepan. Whatever you do, don't boil it!!! Keep the heat on low and don't get impatient! Once warmed sufficiently then turn the stovetop off.
STEP 2. Whisk eggs, sugar and cocoa powder. Add the egg yolks and sugar and whisk until thickened and pale. Sift the cocoa powder over the top and whisk into the eggs. (If it becomes too thick, add in a couple of tablespoons of milk to loosen it up). (Images 3 & 4)
This takes about a minute, a little longer if doing it by hand. Did you know that the sugar can dry out and 'burn' the egg yolks? So don't leave them in the bowl together for too long before whisking them.
STEP 3. Temper the eggs. We're then going to temper the eggs. What does that mean? The milk mixture is warm and if you add the eggs directly to that, it would basically scramble them. Disaster! So, we temper by adding a little of the milk mixture at a time to the eggs whilst continuously whisking which brings the temperature down.
Whilst whisking continuously, pour the cream slowly (Image 5) into the eggs until fully added (Image 6).
STEP 4. Thicken the custard. Pour the combined chocolate mixture back into the saucepan and onto the stove at low heat (Image 7). Carry on whisking whilst the custard heats and thickens. This can take about ten minutes. Don't be impatient and turn the heat up hoping for the thickening to happen sooner. All you'll get is a split custard and bits of cooked egg.
The custard is ready when it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and when you run a pass-through it, it doesn't join (Image 8).
STEP 5. Pass the custard through a sieve and stir in the chopped chocolate. Add your chopped chocolate and salt to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set a fine mesh sieve over the top and pour the custard through it. Discard the vanilla pod.
Leave for five minutes so that the warm custard softens the chocolate (Images 9 & 10). Then whisk until the chopped chocolate is fully melted and combined (Image 11).
Cover the custard straight away with plastic wrap - but make sure the wrap sits touching and covering the surface of the custard (Image 12). This prevents a skin from forming.
STEP 6. Chill the custard. Leave the bowl to cool for an hour and then refrigerate until cold. I recommend no less than 3 to 4 hours or overnight. It'll be thick, smooth and glossy once chilled (Image 13 above). That's it for making the ice cream base. Now it just has to be churned.
Churn the Ice Cream and Freeze
STEP 7: Churn the ice cream. Give the custard a quick stir before pouring it into the ice cream machine (Image 14).
Churn as per the manufactures instructions. Note: Make sure the machine is on and churning before you poor the custard into it.
Mine churned for 30 minutes until it was at the soft-serve stage. You can totally tuck into your ice cream right away if you prefer soft-serve consistency Image 15).
STEP 8: Freeze. Pour the ice cream into a freezer-safe container (Image 16). Cover with parchment paper, then plastic wrap and freeze for a minimum of 4 hours.
And thats everything you need to know to make this mouth-watering, impressive chocolate gelato. It's unashamedly for the chocoholics as it's the same complexity and intensity as biting down into a square of dark bittersweet chocolate.
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💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Use full-fat ingredients. The high-fat content in the cream and milk provides a luxurious creamy feel.
- Room temperature dairy. Let the cream, milk, and eggs come to room temperature before using. Especially important for the eggs when you temper them.
- Thicken the custard slowly. Don't rush the process as you'll run the risk of scrambling the edge.
- Ensure the chocolate is chopped finely. The finer the pieces, the easier it'll melt into the custard.
- Chill the custard before churning. Minimum 3 hours but longer if you can.
- Remember to freeze your ice cream machine bowl for at least 24 hours before churning the ice cream.
📋 Recipe FAQs
You don't need to add the extra dark chocolate. This gelato will be extremely flavourful without it. Either just omit the dark chocolate or increase the cocoa powder to ½ cup.
Use them to make a Roasted Fruit Pavlova or these cute Cranberry Mini Meringue Nests for the holiday season. Or make my simple 5-ingredients Lingue di Gatto Cookies that use only egg whites rather than the whole egg.
Absolutely. That's one of the benefits of making your own batch of Old Fashioned Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream. Either make the ice cream days ahead of when you need it or split the workload my making the chocolate the day before churning and chilling it overnight.
❄️ Storage Instructions
To store: Store the Chocolate Gelato in a freezer-safe container, cover it in parchment paper and then wrap it well with plastic wrap or cover it with a tight-fitting lid. This will prevent any freezer smells from getting into the ice cream.
🍦 More Ice Cream Recipes
If you tried this Dark Chocolate Gelato Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
The Best Dark Chocolate Gelato Recipe
Equipment
- Ice Cream Machine
Ingredients
- 480 ml whole milk, room temperature
- 300 ml double cream (heavy cream), room temperature
- 1 vanilla bean pod, cut in half with beans scraped
- 5 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 22 g cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 100 g dark chocolate 70% (bittersweet), finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat the milk and cream gently. Combine milk, heavy cream, and the vanilla bean pod in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it begins to simmer and bubbles appear around the edge of the saucepan. Whatever you do- don't boil the milk. Turn the heat off and remove the vanilla bean pod. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds with a paring knife's dull (non-cutting) side. Set aside.
- Whisk eggs and sugar. Place the yolks and sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl and whisk until thickened and pale. Sift in the cocoa powder and whisk until combined - if the mixture is too thick, then add a couple of tables spoons of milk to loosen it up and help the whisking process.
- Combine the two mixtures and temper the egg yolks. While whisking the yolks continuously, pour a cupful of the milk mixture in a thin stream. Then slowly pour in the remainder. TIP: place the bowl on a tea towel to stop it from sliding around. And whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture straight back into the saucepan, add in the vanilla pod and caviar and return to low heat on the stovetop.
- Heat the custard. Whilst continuously whisking, heat the custard until it thickens. Test it has thickened by coating the back of a spoon and running your finger through it- if the pass stays- the custard is sufficiently thickened. If it joins then carry on heating on the stovetop.
- Sieve, cool, and refrigerate. Add chopped chocolate and salt into a separate bowl. Pour the custard through a sieve set over the bowl, dicsarding the vanilla pod. Let it stand for a couple of minutes, then whisk until the chocolate is melted and combined.Cover the custard with plastic wrap touching the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Place in the fridge and leave to cool down for at least three hours - or until cool and thickened. I like to leave it overnight for super creamy ice cream.
- Churn the ice cream. Once the custard is sufficiently chilled, pour it into the ice cream machine and churn, following the manufacturer's operating instructions. The ice cream will become a soft-serve consistency.
- Freeze. Once churned, pour the frozen custard into a freezer-safe ice cream dish. Lay parchment paper over the top, touching the surface (to prevent ice crystals from forming), then wrap in plastic wrap or cover with a lid. Freeze for a minimum of 4-6 hours. Scoop, serve, and enjoy!
All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
Yesenia Fraire
Hi. Hope all is well! I have a question, do I absolutely need to have the milk and cream at room temperature if after all I’m going to heat it up? Thanks!
Emma
Hi Yesenia- no it's not a must at all - only if you remember.