A recipe for Gelato al Gianduia (Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato)! This rich ice cream is infused with toasted hazelnuts and semi-sweet chocolate.
Crema Gianduia (Gianduja) is an Italian Chocolate Hazelnut Spread and the precursor to Nutella.
It was created in Turin, Italy in the mid-1800s as a way to extend the amount of chocolate available while the country had a shortage during the British blockade.
This Gelato al Gianduia (Gianduja Gelato) brings together those flavors to create quite the delicious and decadent dessert.
A toasted hazelnut infused milk and cream base is combined with egg yolks, sugar, semisweet chocolate, and a little vanilla until thickened.
The mixture is refrigerated until well-chilled, then churned in an ice cream maker.
If not serving right away, transfer to a freezer-safe container to chill further until the perfect texture for scooping.
A Few Tips
After straining the hazelnut steeped milk, press as much liquid out of the hazelnuts as possible before discarding.
I prefer this Gelato di Gianduia with semi-sweet chocolate. It can be swapped if desired for dark chocolate or milk chocolate.
After adding the eggs to thicken the cream, take care to not increase the heat to try to speed up the process. Stir constantly and heat just until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Otherwise, you may end up with cooked, curdled cream. If the mixture does curdle, I have been able to save ice cream by blending it until smooth in a stand blender or with an immersion blender as a last resort. The result won’t be perfect, but it helps enough to not waste all the ingredients.
I usually skip this step, but to help get a creamier texture and chill the mixture faster you can place the bowl of custard over an ice bath for a few minutes right after it is removed from the stove and blended with the chocolate. Be careful not to get water into the custard. Stir occasionally if you want to speed up the process a bit.
Make sure the chocolate hazelnut base is well-chilled before churning in the ice cream maker.
Toasting the Hazelnuts
Toast the hazelnuts just until fragrant and golden, about 10-15 minutes in a 350˚F (180˚C) oven.
The skins of the hazelnuts should come off easily by simply rubbing in a towel after toasting. Don’t worry if a few stubborn pieces don’t come off. If you don’t to go through the process of removing the skins, use blanched hazelnuts if available.
I finely chopped the hazelnuts in a food processor. Don’t over process. You want the hazelnuts to have some texture and not become a paste.
If you do not have a food processor available, finely chop by hand.
Looking for more ice cream recipes?
Try my:
Gelato al Gianduia (Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato) Recipe
Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
Gelato al Gianduia (Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (185 grams) hazelnuts
- 2 cups (470 milliliters) whole milk
- 1 cup (240 milliliters) heavy cream
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces (113 grams) semisweet chocolate chopped or chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Arrange the hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and fragrant, 10-15 minutes.
- Once cooled slightly, place the hazelnuts in a clean cloth and rub to remove the skins.
- Place the hazelnuts in a food processor. Pulse briefly until finely chopped.
- In a medium saucepan, place the milk and heavy cream over medium heat.
- Once heated through and steaming, but not yet boiling, add the chopped hazelnuts and remove from heat.
- Cover and let rest at room temperature to steep for 1 hour.
- Strain the hazelnut milk through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl, pressing the hazelnuts to release as much liquid as possible.
- Discard the solids. Clean the saucepan and place the strained milk and cream back over medium low heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt.
- While continuing to beat the sugar and eggs, slowly pour in a tablespoon of the heated milk and cream. Once incorporated, slowly stream in and whisk another 1/2 cup (120 milliliters).
- Slowly pour the mixture back into the saucepan over medium-low heat while whisking.
- Cook while continuing to stir until just thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, 170-180˚F (77-82˚C).
- Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Allow to rest for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then whisk to melt the chocolate into the cream until smooth.
- Whisk in the vanilla extract.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled.
- Pour chilled mixture into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions to create the gelato.
- Serve immediately or transfer to freezer safe container and freeze until desired consistency.
Heather Spencer
I didn’t have heavy cream or whole milk but substituted a can of condensed milk and some milk and butter. Also added some dark cocoa powder. It turned out beautifully! Smooth, creamy and delicious. Will bake again many times.