Stracciatella with orange peel
Makes around 1 litre
Stracciatella – which means ‘little shreds’ in Italian – is a universally popular ice cream. The shreds are created by pouring warm chocolate sauce into the ice cream at the end of churning. By some alchemy, the sauce freezes instantly into little crackly flakes. In our recipe, we infuse the custard with orange, which is a lovely counterpoint
to the dark bitterness of the chocolate.
500 ml (16 fl oz) pure (double or
heavy) cream
250 ml (9 fl oz) milk
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds
scraped
strips of peel from 1 orange
pinch salt
6 large egg yolks
150 g (5 1/2 oz) caster (superfine)
sugar
70 g (2 1/2 oz) good-quality dark
chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
chopped
Combine the cream, milk, vanilla pod and seeds, orange peel and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for at least an hour.
When ready to make the custard, bring the infused milk to a simmer then remove from the heat and leave to cool briefly. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and creamy. Slowly
pour on a quarter of the hot infused milk, whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and whisk in briskly. Cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens to a custard consistency.
You should be able to draw a distinct line through the custard on the back of a spoon.
Remove the pan from the heat and cool immediately in a sink of iced water. Stir from time to time to help the custard cool down quickly.
Transfer to the fridge until chilled.
When ready to churn, strain the custard through a sieve to remove the vanilla pod* and orange peel. Pour into an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
While the ice cream is churning, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (the bowl shouldn’t touch the hot water). When it has completely melted, scrape into a small jug and cool to blood temperature. When the ice cream has all but finished churning, remove the lid and, with the motor still running, pour the chocolate directly into the ice cream, onto the turning blades, in a slow, steady stream. Continue churning for another
20–30 seconds. The chocolate will harden on contact and form little flakes. Transfer to a plastic container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.
*Note: Wash and dry the vanilla bean and store with your sugar.