Chocolate Espresso Gelato

A frozen, homemade treat for a hot summer day:  Chocolate Espresso Gelato

When I was in Italy recently, I ate an Italian gelato almost every single day that I was there.  They do gelato right in Italy!  This homemade gelato is for true chocolate lovers who love a good cup of espresso too.  It’s rich and chocolatey, and it has a wonderful velvety texture.

We use our Nespresso machine every single day.  My husband pops in a Nespresso pod and enjoys his little cup of espresso straight up.  I prefer to pour mine into a short glass of hot milk and add sugar.  The pods collect in a container in the back of the machine, and you just empty it now and then when it gets full.

I love that you can adjust the setting on the Nespresso machine to make one strong shot… or you can have it brew a weaker version in a larger cup.  That little silver stand there flips up to accommodate a taller cup.  For this Chocolate Espresso Gelato recipe, you need one shot of strong espresso.

The gelato base is made rich with egg yolks and cream (as any good gelato should be made!)  The espresso in the recipe really intensifies the flavor of the chocolate.  It’s a great addition!  Note:  I didn’t see this flavor of gelato in Italy, but it’s one the Italians should consider adding to their flavor profile 🙂

Here are a few more frozen dessert recipes you might like to try:

• Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
• Stracciatella Gelato 
• Watermelon Sorbet
• Chocolate Cinnamon Gelato with Toffee Bits 
• Rocky Road Ice Cream
• Key Lime Pie Gelato 
• Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

No ratings yet

Chocolate Espresso Gelato

By RecipeGirl.com

Totally delicious gelato flavor!

Prep: 25 minutes mins

Processing, Chilling and Freezing:: 8 hours hrs

Servings: 6 servings (1/2 cup per serving)

SaveSaved Pin Print

Save this recipe!

Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email *

Save

Ingredients

• ▢ 2½ cups half and half cream
• ▢ 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• ▢ 3/4 cup granulated white sugar, divided
• ▢ 3 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate
• ▢ 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 4 large egg yolks
• ▢ 1 shot espresso, cooled

Instructions 

• In a medium saucepan, combine the half & half, heavy cream and half of the sugar.  Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.  Remove the pan from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder; stirring until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
• In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until thick and pale.  Add a small amount of the hot chocolate mixture, beating constantly.  Add a little more.  Keep adding slowly until you have warmed up the egg mixture a little bit-- eventually adding all of the chocolate mixture to the eggs.  Transfer the gelato base back to the saucepan, stir in the espresso and cook the base over low to medium heat, stirring constantly, until a thermometer registers 170 degrees F (do not let the mixture boil).  Pour the base into a bowl, cover and refrigerate several hours (or overnight) until very cold.
• Pour the gelato base into an ice cream maker- following the manufacturer's instructions.  It usually takes 25 to 30 minutes of processing before the base turns into a beautiful, creamy, frozen gelato.  Transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer to freeze completely.

Notes

• If you are preparing this recipe as gluten free, just be sure to use a brand of chocolate that is known to be GF.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (1/2 cup), Calories: 411kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Cholesterol: 179mg, Sodium: 70mg, Potassium: 407mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 30g, Vitamin A: 715IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 186mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!