Ricotta gelato with figs

A delicate, slightly tangy ricotta gelato rippled with fig sauce. An Italian-style autumn dessert.

Ricotta gives the gelato protein and a gentle milky tang reminiscent of Sicilian cannoli. Plenty of protein means a thick mix and small ice crystals. Figs cooked down with sugar into a thick sauce are layered into the gelato only at the end — they taste best in late summer and autumn, when they are ripe.

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

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 450 g whole milk 3.5 %
  • 250 g ricotta (cow’s milk, well drained)
  • 40 g whipping cream 33 %
  • 20 g skimmed milk powder
  • 130 g granulated sugar (sucrose)
  • 50 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)
  • 250 g fresh figs (for topping or folding in at the end, ripe, chopped)
  • 60 g granulated sugar (sucrose) (for topping or folding in at the end)
  • 10 g lemon juice (fresh) (for topping or folding in at the end)

Making the mix

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Let the mix cool to about 40 °C, add the ricotta and blend with a stick blender until completely smooth.
  5. Stand the pan in a bowl of iced water and cool the mix below 5 °C as quickly as possible, stirring now and then.
  6. 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.
  7. Sauce: simmer the figs with the sugar and lemon juice for 15 minutes, blend coarsely and chill.

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. Layer the gelato and fig sauce in a chilled tub, swirl gently with a knife, cover with cling film and leave to harden for 1–2 hours.

Total time: 7 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. Layer the gelato and fig sauce in a chilled tub, cover with cling film and leave to harden 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: 8 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. Put 3–4 tablespoons of fig sauce into a well in the centre and run Mix-in.
  5. Serve straight away. Level off whatever is left, refreeze it and process it again before the next serving.

Programme: Gelato

Total time: 29 h 25 min

Stages

Preparation
25 min
Cooking
25 min
Cooling
30 min
Ageing in the fridge
4 h
Churning
35 min
Hardening in the freezer
2 h
Total time
7 h 55 min

Serving and storage

Garnish with a slice of fresh fig and a few drops of honey or some chopped pistachios. 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

  • Always blend grainy ricotta with a stick blender — otherwise small lumps will remain in the gelato.
  • Out of season, make the sauce from 150 g of dried figs soaked in 150 g of hot water.
  • The zest of half an orange in the base gives it the flavour of Sicilian cannoli.

Why it works

Ricotta (about 11 % fat and 11 % protein) raises the milk solids non-fat to around 10 %, while the fat stays at only about 6 %. The proteins bind water and slow crystal growth, so the gelato is smooth even with little fat. 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