caramel gelato.

I think this is it. The formula to perfectly creamy ice cream without an ice cream maker. I surprised even myself, the texture of this gelato is so smooth it's on par with what I can buy from ice cream shops. The secret?

Milk powder and gelatin together. Both are said to inhibit the formation of ice crystals so I thought, why not use them both? Plus, gelatin makes ice cream more scoop-able when frozen. I didn't have to thaw it to get myself a scoop! Now we're talking instant gratification.

Unfortunately, my gelato still had that melting issue. Although it wasn't so bad this time because I lessened the amount of cornstarch, I'm practically ripping out my hair to solve this problem. Please please please can anyone tell me how to keep ice cream from melting quickly?

I think this caramel gelato is one of the best flavours I've experimented with so far. I cooked it pretty far as you can see from the coffee-brown colour so it's not terribly sweet and extremely flavorful. I topped my scoop off with chocolate-coated coffee beans and toasted pecans but the nuts won over the chocolate. Hard to believe but oh yes, so true.

Caramel Gelato
makes a small batch, about 2-3 servings

1/2 cup sugar
water
1 cup + 2 tbsp whole milk, divided
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp + 2 tsp milk powder
3/8 tsp gelatin powder

Place sugar and just enough water to moisten in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until the sugar has melted and caramelized to the shade you want. The darker it is, the less sweet but don't go too far! Reduce heat to medium and add 1 cup of whole milk. The caramel will solidify but that's okay, it will dissolve back in again.

Whisk together cornstarch, milk powder and gelatin in the remaining 2 tbsp of milk until a paste has formed. Dissolve the paste into the caramel mixture and bring it to a boil, cooking until the mixture has thickened. It won't be very thick at this stage but after it cools down, it will.

Remove from heat, strain and let it cool completely. Use an ice bath if you're impatient. Chill the mixture until cold, not just cool. Proceed the churn in your ice cream maker or do it by hand if you're ice cream maker-less like me.

Remember, there's no need to thaw before eating! Yay gelatin!

Linked to These Chicks Cooked, Sweet Treats Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Sweets for a Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday and Sweet Indulgences Sunday.