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Stracciatella Ice Cream

17/11/2023

Stracciatella ice cream is a beloved Italian classic known worldwide for its creaminess and crunchy bits of chocolate. Here’s how you can make stracciatella ice cream at home.

Ingredients

  • 500 ml of fresh whipping cream
  • 250 ml of whole milk
  • 150 g of granulated sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean or natural vanilla extract
  • 100 g of dark chocolate

Preparation

  1. Begin by heating the milk in a small pot with the vanilla bean slit lengthwise (to expose the seeds) or with a few drops of natural vanilla extract, until it becomes lukewarm.

  2. In a large bowl, mix the sugar with the warm milk and stir well until the sugar has completely dissolved.

  3. Allow the mixture to cool down completely. Then, remove the vanilla bean if you used one.

  4. Whip the fresh cream until it is softly firm.

  5. Gently fold the whipped cream into the milk flavored with vanilla, stirring from the bottom up to avoid deflating it.

  6. Transfer the mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the instructions of your machine to make the ice cream. If you do not have an ice cream maker, you can place the mixture in a container and put it in the freezer, stirring every 30-40 minutes for the first 2-3 hours to prevent ice crystals from forming.

  7. While the ice cream is chilling, melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler.

  8. When the ice cream begins to firm up (usually after about 30 minutes in the ice cream maker), add the melted chocolate in a thin stream so that it solidifies and breaks into small pieces, creating the “stracciatella” effect.

  9. Allow the ice cream maker to finish its cycle, or if in the freezer, wait until it is completely solid.

  10. Once ready, serve the stracciatella ice cream in cups or cones, as you like.

Curiosity

Stracciatella is a flavor born in Italy, precisely in Bergamo, and its name comes from the dialectal term “stracciare,” which means “to tear, to break,” referring to the chocolate that, poured into the ice cream, solidifies and breaks into many small fragments. It’s an example of Italian culinary genius that has managed to combine the simplicity of pure ingredients with a surprising effect on taste and texture.