Strawberry Gelato

I've been having quite a bit of left over egg yolks with my macaron experiments (yes, they are still sinking although I had one good batch. I wonder why.)

So, I've bookmarked this Cherry and Raspberry Ripple Gelato recipe for a while now. But since it only uses egg yolks, I've been procrastinating. Now, it's time!

Because cherries and raspberries are crazy expensive in Singapore, I've decided to make Strawberry Gelato instead.  I am quite tempted to do the cherry and raspberry next.

The first time I cooked strawberries and sugar. Makes a nice simple compote. 

The recipe's pretty simple. Make the custard, strain it. Leave it to cool.

Make the puree. With a food processor, WHIZZ! and DONE! I really love my KitchenAid Food Processor. ^^

Blended and yummy

I used Pacific Brand's Rice Milk (Vanilla flavoured) which, in my opinion, was super pricey at S$5.15 for a 945ml pack. I almost wanted to buy Soy Milk since it was cheaper at S$2.20 per pack, but remembered that soy typically overpowers the taste of whatever ice cream I'm making.

The taste was great as the Strawberry really comes through. However, the texture is a little icy. It actually feels like a sorbet to me. Apart from the fact it doesn't freeze me up as much and it's easier to scoop out compared to a sorbet.

RECIPE
~ Adapted from Food Nouveau

BASE
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups Rice Milk
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Method

1. Heat the milk until it is beginning to bubble, then cool slightly. {Tip from Food Nouveau: Watch it closely if you don’t want to make a big mess because cream and milk reach their boiling point very suddenly.}
2. In the bowl of your mixer (or a large heat proof bowl), beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and creamy (about 2 minutes at medium speed - Speed 4 on Kitchen Aid). Beat the cooling milk very slowly into the eggs to warm the mixture gradually (so you don't get scrambled eggs). I used a ladle to slowly scoop the milk into the egg mixture. May have taken too long as my eggs had a lot of bubbles on them. 
3. Pour the custard back into the pan, place over low heat and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the custard just coats the back of the spoon.
4. Pour the cooked custard into a bowl through a sieve (to get rid of the cooked eggs, if any). Let it cool.

FRUITS
Ingredients
3 cups frozen strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Method

1. Put everything in a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or till fruits are soft and have let out their juices. Let cool. 
2. Puree using a blender or a food processor. 
3. Save 1/3 cup of the puree for the ripple.

CHURN GELATO

1. Blend the cooled custard base with the strawberry puree (except the 1/3 cup puree reserved for the ripple). 
2. Add 2 tablespoons of any alcohol you think would taste good with your flavors (I added Vodka), to help keep your gelato more scoopable.
3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Stop the machine when the gelato is almost firm.

RIPPLE THE GELATO

1. Pour 1/4 of the gelato custard in an airtight freezer-safe container. 
2. On the gelato, pour 1/3 of the reserved strawberry puree. {you can add some chopped fruits as well, but I didn't.}
3. Repeat twice and end with a layer of gelato custard. Layering fruits and custard this way will create the beautiful rippled look when you scoop your gelato in serving cups.
4. Put your assembled gelato in the freezer for an additional 30 minutes or until required. It will keep for a month.

REVIEW
Mom: Too sweet.
Me: Love the taste. Texture's a little icy.