Italian Vanilla Bean Gelato

5 from 1 vote

Italian Vanilla Bean Gelato

Make an authentic Italian vanilla gelato filled with flecks of vanilla bean. This at home gelato recipe has a rich taste and creamy texture, just like you ate on vacation in Italy.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Churning Time20

Total Time1 40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings (yields 4 cups or 950 ml)

Calories: 215kcal

Author: Jessica Mode

Equipment

Ingredients

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon dextrose
¼ teaspoon guar gum
⅛ teaspoon locust bean gum
2 cups 2% milk
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons nonfat milk powder
1 ¼ cup heavy cream

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Fill a large bowl with ice to use later as an ice bath. Place an empty bowl on top of the ice. Set aside. Place a storage container in the freezer to chill.
Whisk dextrose, guar gum, and locust bean gum in a small mixing bowl.
Cook milk and vanilla bean paste in a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat until it reaches 105°F (40°C) on an instant read thermometer. Once it reaches temperature, whisk in granulated sugar and nonfat milk powder. Once dissolved, whisk in dextrose mixture.
Continue cooking the gelato base over medium heat, stirring often to ensure it doesn’t burn, until it reaches 195°F (90°C) on an instant read thermometer.
Remove saucepan from heat. Whisk in heavy cream.
Place a fine mesh strainer over the empty bowl on top of the ice bath. Strain gelato base.
Chill gelato base until it has stopped steaming. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the gelato (to prevent a skin from forming on top), then cover with plastic wrap, and rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Pour the gelato base into an ice cream maker, and process for about 20–25 minutes, or according to the manufacturer's directions. The gelato will be on the soft side.
Transfer churned gelato into chilled storage container. Place gelato into the freezer to "cure" or harden up for a few hours. To serve, swipe the frozen gelato with a flat paddle. Smash the gelato on the side of the storage container to push out some of the air. Transfer to a serving bowl.
Store gelato in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Don't forget to place the ice cream machine bowl in the freezer 24 hours before churning if you don't have a built-in freezer compressor.

Learn more about authentic Italian gelato.

Make Ahead: You can make the gelato base ahead of time, and store the mixture tightly covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 24–48 hours ahead of churning.

Nutrition