Chocolate

Chocolate, cardamom and stewed fig gelato

by:
February 14, 2012
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Chocolate, cardamom and stewed fig gelato
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

Amazingly, as a child I was never fond of chocolate ice-cream or gelato, preferring the easy flavours of vanilla or strawberry. But trust me, I’ve more than made up for it in my adulthood.

The base recipe for this gelato is inspired by Pellegrino Artusi's century-old Italian recipe for gelato di cioccolata. I couldn’t help but add a fair bit more chocolate to the recipe and to spice it up with cardamom and gooey, stewed figs. You could use canned figs in syrup if you can find them, or stew fresh ripe figs yourself. Even better (for a more intense flavour and sweetness), use dried figs steeped in hot water, then stewed until soft and gooey.
—Emiko

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 quart milk (or for a richer, creamier consistency, pouring cream)
  • 9 ounces dark chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped
  • 4 1/2 ounces fine sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
  • 8-10 stewed figs
Directions
  1. In a pot, gently heat the milk and add the chocolate, the sugar and spice. Gently whisk it all together in the warm milk.
  2. Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl, add some of the chocolate mixture to the eggs and then add it all back to the pot and continue whisking for a few more minutes over low heat until the mixture thickens slightly.
  3. Stir in the chopped, stewed figs.
  4. Take off the heat and allow the chocolate mixture to cool completely before placing in an ice-cream maker. I find that home made gelato needs an extra hour or so in the freezer to set properly before serving.
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4 Reviews

fiveandspice
fiveandspice February 15, 2012
Emiko, this sounds heavenly!
 
Emiko
Emiko February 14, 2012
Yes, I was very tempted to soak the figs in vin santo (Tuscan dessert wine) - I'm sure it wouldn't do them any harm! Orange (and particularly a very good candied orange peel) is delicious with dark chocolate, sounds like a great combination!
 
Emiko
Emiko February 14, 2012
Yes, I almost soaked the figs in some vin santo, an Italian dessert wine - I'm sure it wouldn't do them any harm! Orange (and for me, a very good quality candied orange peel) goes beautifully with dark chocolate too, that sounds like a wonderful combination!
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. February 14, 2012
This is lovely. I would be intrigued also to see a version with armagnac soaked prunes (instead of figs) and orange, added to the above recipe! thanks so much for this!