Nutella #4!

Cold nutella: nutella gelato!

I got this idea after remembering the nutella milkshakes I'd treat myself to once in a while at Boloco. They're very decadent, and probably significantly less healthy than a mango orange nonfat yogurt smoothie (my usual, if I was going for a smoothie/milkshake).

I've had an ice cream maker for just over a year, and I think this was the 6th time I've used it (orange-lemon gelato, strawberry-balsamic gelato (gelato fail- balsamic and dairy is a bad combination), kahlua gelato (formerly the favorite), and cherry vanilla gelato), the last time being in June- so even though I've used the ice cream maker several times, it'd been a while. And there were things I forgot:

Don't let the egg/milk mixture curdle. My recipe said to cook this for about 8 minutes, til thickened. After 3, it started to curdle- not bad enough to affect the finished product, but still.Once I made ice cream, and even after 40 minutes, the custard still had not thickened. I think that was an extreme, but my point is, you need to watch it, and stir frequently.

After making the custard, it needs to chill. This takes a good several hours- it's best to just let it go all day or overnight.

Chunky add-ins should be stirred in by hand. Also, nutella won't make a nice swirl, it'll kind of break up. Less pretty, but still delicious. And it'll stay somewhat solid, not creamy like a fudge ripple.

The recipe.

2 cups 2% milk (2% is important)
1/2-1 teaspoon vanilla

5 egg yolks (you can save the whites for something quick, like coconut macaroons, or meringue, or this ethereal lemon frosting that I'm going to try this weekend)
1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup coarsely chopped, toasted almonds
1/2-2/3cup nutella

Scald milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks and sugar until lemon-colored (a few minutes, with a whisk)

Temper the egg yolk/sugar mixture: add a ladleful of scalded milk and whisk, add another ladleful, whisk, and continue til about half the milk mixture is added to the eggs. Then return the egg/milk to the milk in the saucepan and cook- here's where it's tricky. I cooked over medium/medium-high heat for 3 minutes, which was just barely too long. The custard should thicken to coat the back of the spoon, but sometimes it's frothy and hard to tell. So just keep spooning the mixture to check to see if it's curdled- if it just barely starts to curdle, it'll still be ok. And keep stirring gently.

Strain the custard into a bowl (definitely strain it), and chill until it's thoroughly chilled- I like to just chill it overnight, then you know it's definitely cold. It must be cold when it goes into the ice cream maker, or else it won't freeze. Chilling takes at least 3 hours.

Once the custard's chilled, add it to the ice cream maker. Follow the directions on your ice cream maker. On mine, the kitchenaid attachment, I set up the pieces and start the mixer going on the lowest setting, then slowly pour the chilled custard in.

I let that go for 20 minutes, until it seemed ice cream-y solid. At this point, it basically gets to a soft serve consistency. Then stir in the almonds (I tried using the mixer's paddle, but the almonds just clumped up, so I switched to a spatula by hand) and the nutella.

Transfer to a bowl and freezer for a few more hours (again, I prefer chilling the cooked custard overnight, making the ice cream the next morning, and chilling orver the day to have fresh ice cream for dessert) and voila, ice cream! With nutella cookies, of course.
I feel like every time I make ice cream, the newest flavor I try is the best. This definitely continues in that trend. The nutella stays kind of solid, so you get little bits of nutella, instead of smooth nutella swirl (and this is how I like my sundaes, when the hot fudge gets a little solid where it touches the ice cream). The toasted almonds go nicely with nutella- I would have preferred hazelnuts, but I didn't have any on hand.