Step 1

Whip the egg yolks with the sugar at maximum speed for about 5 minutes, until you have a soft fluffy cream. You can use a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer. You can even beat them by hand with a whisk, but you need more time and the result is not as perfect as with the electric mixer.

Step 2

Meanwhile, pour the milk in a saucepan and bring it almost to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes. THE MILK MUST NOT BOIL If you have a kitchen thermometer you can check that the temperature remains at about 85°C (185 F). If you don’t have a thermometer, take care to remove the saucepan from the heat or to lower the heat if you see that the milk starts to boil.

Step 3

At this step, transfer the egg and sugar fluffy cream to a saucepan. Pour the hot milk slowly. Keep mixing while you do it. In this way you are also pasteurizing the eggs. With the exception of flour, the procedure is similar to that of Pastry Cream recipe. If you want to flavor your gelato, this is the time to add either grated lemon zest or two drops of vanilla extract or vanilla bean. Now put it back on the heat and cook for another 5 minutes WITHOUT BOILING AND ALWAYS STIRRING Then turn off the heat and add the cold heavy cream. Mix really well. Now let’s show you how to make gelato with and without ice cream maker, so keep reading.

Step 4

WITH Ice Cream Maker

Now if you have an ice cream maker, pour the mixture into the machine and start it. It will take about 40 minutes, depending on the model. After the necessary time, your gelato is ready! Fresh, creamy and nutritious. PLEASE NOTE: The best ice cream maker you can find on the market is the one with a compressor that cools while churning the gelato. This ice cream maker is very similar to the professional ones and is the one we used for this recipe. Read how to store it in the paragraph below. If you don’t have an gelato maker, in the next paragraph we’ll show you how to make ice cream without an ice cream maker

WITHOUT Ice Cream Maker

If you don’t have a gelato maker, don’t worry! We are going to show you how to make Italian gelato without the help of an ice cream maker. It takes more time (5 hours instead of about 40 minutes) and more work but the result is still exceptional! Let’s see how to do it!
Pour the mixture into a gelato container and place it in the freezer for about 5 hours. Every 30 minutes you have to break the frozen surface. So remove from the freezer and mix for about 30 seconds using a hand whisk or an electric whisk on low speed. This step is necessary in order not to create ice crystals in the gelato and have a creamy result. Of course this is a bit more laborious process, but it’s worth it. You will surely have an exquisite authentic Italian Gelato!