Sunday, February 05, 2012

World Nutella Day - 2012

This year marks the third year that I have participated in World Nutella Day! My contribution to creamy, chocolatey, hazelnutty goodness for 2012 is Nutella Gelato. I just sat down to have a bit and it is absolutely amazing!

Swirling in the ice cream machine

Just out of the ice cream machine, headed to the freezer

The crown jewel of my day - Nutella Gelato!
The recipe: Nutella Gelato
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup Nutella
In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and Nutella until it dissolves. Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze. To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls.

After making the gelato I had four egg whites left over so I decided to try my hand at making meringues.  Bring on the sugar high!!



Bonus recipe: Meringues
adapted from AllRecipes.com
  • 4 egg whites
  • 2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Butter and flour a baking sheet.

In a glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer. Sprinkle in sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whip at medium speed. When the mixture becomes stiff and shiny like satin, stop mixing, and transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag. Pipe the meringue out onto the prepared baking sheet using a large round tip or star tip.

Place the meringues in the oven and place a wooden spoon handle in the door to keep it from closing all the way. Bake for 3 hours, or until the meringues are dry, and can easily be removed from the pan. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature.

A big thank you to  Ms Adventures in ItalyBleeding Espresso, and World Nutella Day for hosting this awesome event!


1 comment:

Marisa said...

Yum!