Chocolate gelato -- at home!

In case it hasn't become blatantly apparent, I love chocolate. And frozen treats. Chocolate frozen treats, in particular. So it's no surprise that I own an ice cream maker that gets quite a bit of use each summer. This time of year is especially great, with lots of fresh berries to add to our ice cream, frozen Greek yogurt, and sorbets. But for a chocolate fix? You can't beat dark chocolate gelato.

Excuse the drip -- it's been HOT here lately!

This is my go-to recipe:

2 2/3 cups 2% milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 lb dark chocolate, chopped or broken up
1/4 cup cocoa (Dutch processed is best, but I didn't happen to have it this time)
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch

In medium pot, mix cocoa, sugar and cornstarch until blended. Add about half the milk to the pot and stir. Bring mixture to boil and remove from heat. Toss in dark chocolate pieces and stir until they melt, before adding remaining milk and cream to mixture. Blend well. Chill for half an hour.

Once mixture is chilled, add to ice cream maker and churn about half an hour (follow your machine's directions -- they're all a bit different). Pour churned gelato into a freezer-safe container and freeze for 4-5 hours (less if container is shallow) before eating. Delicious!

I've found this gelato is best after the initial freezing period. It gets quite hard in the freezer and needs to be set out in advance if you want to eat it later.

Also, for my friends without an ice cream maker, you could make a similar version by mixing and chilling the gelato and pouring it into a chilled, shallow container. Freeze until the edges start to harden (about 40 mins to an hour), and then stir well. Repeat several more times until mixture is thick and scoop-able.

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