Almond gelato (latte di mandorla)

A delicate gelato made from freshly ground almonds infused in milk — the taste of Sicilian almond milk.

Latte di mandorla (almond milk) is a traditional drink from southern Italy, especially Sicily and Apulia. For the gelato, blanched almonds are ground with a little water and infused in warm milk, so the flavour is clean and delicate, with no marzipan note. The almonds bring both fat and protein, so only a little cream is needed.

Type: Italian gelato · Servings: 8 · Difficulty: Moderate

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 100 g almonds (skinned (blanched))
  • 80 g water
  • 600 g whole milk 3.5 %
  • 40 g whipping cream 33 %
  • 40 g skimmed milk powder
  • 130 g granulated sugar (sucrose)
  • 45 g dextrose (glucose powder)
  • 2 g locust bean gum (carob gum, E410) (or 3 g of ready-made gelato stabiliser)
  • 1 g guar gum (E412)

Making the mix

  1. Blend the almonds with the water in a high-speed blender for 2–3 minutes to a fine paste.
  2. Mix the locust bean gum and guar gum thoroughly with the dry sugars (granulated sugar and dextrose). On their own they would form lumps as soon as they get wet.
  3. Pour the milk, cream and milk powder into a pan and heat while whisking. When the mixture is lukewarm (about 40 °C), gradually add the sugars and whisk until they dissolve.
  4. Add the almond paste.
  5. Heat the mix to 85 °C (check with a thermometer) and hold it at that temperature for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly. This pasteurises the mix and fully hydrates the stabiliser.
  6. Take the pan off the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Then blend the mix as finely as you can with a stick blender.
  7. Stand the pan in a bowl of iced water and cool the mix below 5 °C as quickly as possible, stirring now and then.
  8. Cover and leave the mix to age in the fridge for 4–12 hours, ideally overnight. Meanwhile the proteins and stabiliser bind water and the mix thickens.

Method — Compressor ice cream maker

  1. Switch the ice cream maker on 5–10 minutes in advance so the bowl can pre-chill.
  2. Give the aged mix a quick blitz with a stick blender and pour it into the bowl, no higher than the max line.
  3. Churn for about 30–40 minutes, until the gelato is thick and glossy and clings to the paddle. Then switch the machine off — churning any longer would only whip in unnecessary air.
  4. Transfer to a chilled tub, press cling film onto the surface and leave to harden in the freezer for 1–2 hours.

Total time: 11 h 55 min

Method — Freezer-bowl ice cream maker

  1. Take the bowl, frozen for at least 24 hours, out of the freezer just before use, fit the paddle and switch the machine on.
  2. With the machine running, pour in the well-chilled, freshly blended mix — filling the bowl no more than two-thirds full.
  3. Churn for 20–30 minutes, until the gelato thickens to a soft-serve consistency. There is no point going longer — by then the bowl has warmed up.
  4. Transfer to a chilled tub, press cling film onto the surface and leave to harden in the freezer for 2–3 hours.

A freezer bowl only partly freezes the mix, so the gelato needs longer to harden in the freezer and tends to be slightly less smooth than from a compressor machine. A well-chilled, properly aged mix helps.

Total time: 12 h 45 min

Method — Ninja CREAMi and similar machines

  1. Pour the aged mix into the CREAMi tub up to the MAX line, put the lid on and freeze on a level surface for 24 hours.
  2. Fit the tub into the machine and run the Gelato programme (if your model doesn’t have it, use Ice Cream).
  3. If the gelato is powdery or crumbly, run Re-spin, and a second time if needed (many users add 1–2 tablespoons of milk first).
  4. Serve straight away. Level off whatever is left, refreeze it and process it again before the next serving.

Programme: Gelato

In the CREAMi a little more milk powder helps — the gelato is less crumbly after the first spin.

Total time: 33 h 25 min

Stages

Preparation
20 min
Cooking
30 min
Cooling
30 min
Ageing in the fridge
8 h
Churning
35 min
Hardening in the freezer
2 h
Total time
11 h 55 min

Serving and storage

Sprinkle with toasted flaked almonds; it goes well with coffee granita or apricots. Gelaterias keep it in the display case at −11 to −13 °C, while a home freezer runs at −18 °C — straight out of it, gelato is hard. So move the tub to the fridge 15–20 minutes before serving (or leave it at room temperature for 8–10 minutes) and work the gelato with a spatula before scooping, just as they do in a gelateria.

Artisan gelato is made to be eaten fresh: it is best on the day you make it and within 3–5 days. In a closed tub with cling film pressed onto the surface it will keep in the freezer for up to two weeks, but it gradually hardens and ice crystals build up.

Tips

  • Want a perfectly smooth gelato? After ageing, strain the mix through a fine sieve or muslin and squeeze the almonds well. The composition changes slightly (less fat and fewer solids).
  • You can blanch almonds yourself: pour boiling water over them, drain after 2 minutes and squeeze them out of their skins.
  • For a stronger flavour, first roast the almonds for 8 minutes at 160 °C — the gelato will be nuttier and darker.

Why it works

The almonds make up about 10 % of the mix and add 5 % fat and 2 % protein. A longer ageing time (8 hours) gives the almonds time to pass their flavour into the milk. Anti-freezing power (PAC) tells you how much water stays unfrozen at a given temperature — the higher it is, the softer the gelato. Dextrose has almost twice the anti-freezing power of granulated sugar but is about a third less sweet, which is why gelaterias combine the two sugars.

Sources