Gelato Heaven
My two daughters returned to the nest from college in New York and Paris after six long years. My heart told me that these moments are far and few between. Being that Houston never became their hometown before leaving for college, I wanted to make sure they could feel at home anyway, especially after the journey they embarked on to be with family.
My youngest braved the four-day trek from Paris all the way to Manchester while lugging around suitcases packed with four years of prized possessions. Not to mention the weight of her hopes and dreams for her future.
A week later, our eldest was on the next flight out of New York once we heard the devastating news of the rampant exposure the city endured. And just like that, we were all reunited again, left to make up for lost time. What better way to do that than spending time in our kitchen.
Months passed and with each day new cravings emerged. My girls brought along a yearning for their favorite dishes from their college towns. We got to cooking and recreated as many as we could. My husband even joined in on the fun and spoiled us with his favorite Mexican street food. But a meal is never really complete without dessert.
I have always been the pastry chef of the family, so I dedicated my time to creating our family favorites, like French tarts, apple crumb cake, and bitter chocolate volcanoes. Then everything changed when we boldly accepted the call to become makers of ice cream. Before we knew it, we were highly trained aficionados experimenting with the silky richness of Gelato. So many flavors, but not enough containers, led us to our favorite recipe yet – Lemon Gelato de Crema.
We were whisked away to Gelato Heaven, even if for just a brief moment, and this recipe will always remind us we can create wonderful moments out of any situation.
Lemon Gelato De Crema
A proper Italian Gelato de Crema is sort of like vanilla ice cream, only in place of vanilla, you infuse the milk with a modest grating or shaving of lemon zest. This doesn't turn it into lemon ice cream, itself a cool dollop of heaven. What happens, rather, is that the small-volume scent of lemon makes the eggs eggier and the custard creamier. In short, we're talking platonic ideal of ice cream.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups whole milk
- Grated zest of 2 lemons
- 1⁄4 cup lemon juice
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1⁄2 cup sugar
PREPARATION
In a small saucepan, combine milk and lemon zest. Place over medium-low heat just until steaming; do not boil. Remove from heat, cover and allow mixture to infuse for about 20 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Strain infused milk into a pitcher, then whisk it into the yolk mixture.
Pour mixture into a clean saucepan, and place over medium-low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until it forms a custard thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 10-20 minutes. (Do not overheat or it will curdle.) Cool mixture by placing bottom of pan in several inches of cold water; give it a stir. Let it cool completely. Pour it through a sieve. Add 1/4 cup of lemon juice after cooling –must be cold to avoid curdling. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
