Chocolate gelato with cocoa powder

Introduction

We continue our series of classic recipes with chocolate gelato, a cornerstone of every Italian childhood. To bring back a little nostalgia, it is also worth sharing a great classic by Pupo, Chocolate Gelato.

This recipe is balanced to suit most palates and meet the most common expectations for chocolate gelato.

You can, however, adjust it by changing the amount of cocoa powder to suit your taste. Victoria, for example, likes this gelato with more low-fat cocoa powder, for an intense chocolate flavor that reminds her of Pan di Stelle cookies, using as much as 80 g per kg.

How is cocoa used in gelato making?

There are many ways to make chocolate gelato: you can start with cocoa powder or chocolate couverture; choose a milk base or a vegan water base; and use white or dark chocolate.

The recipe we propose is the most common interpretation of simply "chocolate gelato": cocoa in a milk base. Here we will use 11% low-fat cocoa. If you want to use 22% cocoa, simply rebalance the recipe by reducing the cream and dextrose and adding a proportional amount of milk to compensate for the fat content and PAC.

Why PAC?

Let us move on to the technical part.

Chocolate gelato presents an interesting challenge because of cocoa's hardening properties. Both components of cocoa, the non-fat cocoa solids and the cocoa butter, add firmness when the temperature drops below zero. The only way to manage this effect is to increase the PAC through the sugars in order to offset it.

But by how much? Several reference studies can help estimate the additional PAC needed to compensate for cocoa's hardening effect. Here are a few reference values:

• 11% low-fat cocoa: PAC = -170. In other words, it hardens the gelato by the equivalent of 170 g of sugar for every 100 grams of cocoa
• 22% low-fat cocoa: PAC = -160

As you can see, the hardening power changes with the amount of cocoa butter. This is because cocoa butter has less hardening power than pure non-fat cocoa solids.

This must be taken into account when using couverture chocolate or other combinations of ingredients. To calculate the PAC, you need to consider the hardening power of both the non-fat cocoa component and the fat component.

These are the hardening factors for cocoa butter and pure non-fat cocoa solids:

• Cocoa butter: PAC = -90
• Pure non-fat cocoa solids: PAC = -180

These are indicative values derived from Angelo Corvitto's laboratory studies and published in his book "Gelato Without Secrets". They can, of course, vary according to the cocoa, the brand, and the combination of ingredients.

Always bear in mind that flavor comes mainly from the non-fat cocoa solids, whose quantity per kg usually falls between 30 and 60 g.

Because a higher PAC is required, invert sugar is a valuable ally. Besides having a PAC of 190, it adds creaminess through its chemical properties and, because it contains 25% water, prevents an excess of solids in the mixture.

Ingredients

• Proportions for ~1 kg
• Tested with a Cuisinart ICE100 using 700 g

Balance

Note: the cocoa alone contributes a PAC of −130.

Preparation

1. Preparation and pasteurization:
   1. Combine the cream and milk and begin heating the mixture slowly
   2. Dissolve the cocoa with a whisk or food processor
   3. Combine and mix the other powdered ingredients
   4. Add the other powdered ingredients to the milk mixture and keep stirring
   5. Once the mixture passes 40 ºC, add the invert sugar and eggs
   6. Continue stirring until it reaches 85 ºC
   7. Once it reaches 85 ºC, cool it as quickly as possible for 700g506.5
2. Aging:
   1. One night at 4 °C
3. Churning (Cuisinart ICE100 for 700 g):
   1. Churn for 50 minutes
   2. Extracted at -6.5 ºC
4. Minimum freezer time:
   1. 8 hours

iCalc chart

• Overrun: 25% 25%
• Serving temperature: -13ºC-13ºC

Tasting notes

The first thing you notice is a powerful chocolate aroma, intense and with its characteristic bitter finish. The flavor is closer to dark chocolate.

There is no free water to form ice crystals, and you can feel the natural cocoa on your tongue because it is not 100% soluble.

The texture is creamy and full-bodied, probably thanks to the emulsifying action of the egg yolks combined with the effect of the invert sugar.

We tasted it at -14 ºC and the texture was exceptional; even straight out of a home freezer (-18 ºC), however, it was already easy to eat, with a texture more like ice cream.

We have rarely been so pleased with one of our recipes: it could compete with the best gelato shops in the city.

Try it and let us know what you think!