Salted Caramel Gelato

hand holing a cone with chocolate gelato.

5 from 2 votes

This Italian salted caramel gelato is the perfect mix of salty and sweet. If you want to make an authentic version of Italian gelato at home, you have to try this recipe.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Churning Time20

Total Time1 50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings (1 quart)

Calories: 251kcal

Author: Jessica Mode

Equipment

Ingredients

5 tablespoons skim milk powder
¼ teaspoon guar gum
⅛ teaspoon locust bean gum
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature and cut into 1 tablespoon (14 grams) pieces
½ cup heavy cream room temperature
2 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons 2% milk
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

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 skim milk powder, guar gum, and locust bean gum in a small mixing bowl.
Add sugar and water to a medium heavy bottom saucepan. Cover with a lid, and let boil over medium heat until sugar is completely melted, about 5 - 6 minutes.
Remove lid, and continue cooking until the sugar begins to darken. Do not stir the caramel at this point. If it appears to be burning, you can gently swirl it in the pan. Once the sugar reaches an amber-colored liquid, about 4 - 7 minutes later, stir in heavy cream (be careful, the cream will bubble and slightly splatter). Add butter one cube at a time, and stir until the caramel is smooth.
Pour in milk, and stir to combine. Whisk in skim milk powder 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.
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.
Remove the gelato base from the refrigerator, and whisk in fine sea salt.
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.

Video

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