Stracciatella

Milky cream ice cream with delicate flakes of dark chocolate.

Stracciatella was invented in Bergamo in 1961 at the La Marianna gelateria. The trick is that melted chocolate is poured into ice cream that is already frozen: it sets instantly and breaks into thin flakes as it’s stirred, which melt on the tongue. The base is purely milky, with no eggs or vanilla, so the contrast between cream and dark chocolate stands out.

Type: Classic cream ice cream · Servings: 8 · Difficulty: Moderate

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 550 g whole milk 3.5 %
  • 300 g whipping cream 33 %
  • 30 g skimmed milk powder
  • 140 g granulated sugar (sucrose)
  • 25 g dextrose (glucose powder)
  • 80 g dark chocolate 70 % (melted, warm (about 40 °C))

Making the mix

  1. Mix the skimmed milk powder and dextrose with the granulated sugar (mixed dry, they won’t form lumps).
  2. Heat the milk and cream in a pan to about 60 °C, then whisk in the sugar and milk powder mixture and keep stirring until it has completely dissolved.
  3. Cool the mix quickly in a bowl set in iced water.
  4. Cover and age in the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
  5. Melt the chocolate just before churning (over steam or in the microwave in 20-second bursts) so it’s runny and lukewarm.

Method — Compressor ice cream maker

  1. Switch on the ice cream maker 5–10 minutes ahead so the bowl can pre-chill.
  2. Pour in the chilled mix no higher than the fill line (with a smaller bowl, churn in two batches) and churn for 30–40 minutes, until it has the consistency of thick whipped cream.
  3. For the last 2 minutes of churning, pour the melted chocolate in a very thin stream straight onto the paddle. It will set and break into flakes.
  4. Transfer to a chilled container, press cling film onto the surface and leave to harden in the freezer for 2 hours.

Total time: 7 h 30 min

Method — Freezer-bowl ice cream maker

  1. Take the frozen bowl out of the freezer just before use, fit the paddle and switch the machine on.
  2. With the machine running, pour in the chilled mix — no more than two-thirds full; freeze the rest as a second batch.
  3. Churn for 20–30 minutes, until the ice cream thickens. There’s no point going longer — by then the bowl has warmed up.
  4. For the last 2 minutes, with the machine running, pour in the melted chocolate in a very thin stream so it breaks into flakes.
  5. Transfer to a chilled container and leave to harden in the freezer for 3 hours.

Freeze the bowl for at least 24 hours beforehand (until you can no longer hear the coolant sloshing inside). The mix must be thoroughly chilled.

Total time: 8 h 20 min

Method — Ninja CREAMi and similar machines

  1. Divide the chilled mix between CREAMi tubs, filling each no higher than the MAX line (a full batch makes about two standard tubs).
  2. Put the lids on and freeze on a level surface for 24 hours.
  3. Place a tub in the machine and run the Ice Cream program.
  4. Use a spoon to dig a well about 4 cm wide in the centre, all the way to the bottom, add 2–3 tablespoons of lukewarm melted chocolate and run the Mix-in program.
  5. If the ice cream is crumbly or powdery, run Re-spin (many users add 1–2 tablespoons of milk first).

Programme: Ice Cream

Add the chocolate only with the Mix-in program — it sets on the cold ice cream and the blade breaks it into flakes. Don’t fill the tub above the MAX line.

Total time: 29 h 3 min

Method — No-machine method

  1. Pour the chilled mix into a deep metal or glass container (a baking dish, for example) and put it in the freezer.
  2. After 45 minutes, stir the mix thoroughly with a whisk, spatula or stick blender, working the frozen edges into the centre.
  3. Repeat every 30 minutes, 4–5 times in all, until the ice cream is thick and smooth.
  4. At the last stir, drizzle the melted chocolate over the ice cream in layers, then immediately break it up with a fork and stir it in.
  5. Leave to harden for another hour.

Without a machine you get more ice crystals and less air, so the ice cream is denser. Every stir breaks up the crystals, so don’t skip any.

Total time: 8 h 55 min

Stages

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

Serving and storage

Take it out of the freezer (−18 °C) and let it stand for 5–10 minutes until it scoops easily. It tastes best at −12 to −14 °C.

In a sealed container with cling film pressed onto the surface it’s best within a week; after that, ice crystals start to build up. Never refreeze ice cream that has melted.

Tips

  • The chocolate must not be hot — at 40 °C it sets on the ice cream instantly; any hotter and it would melt the ice cream and sink to the bottom.
  • The thinner the stream, the finer the flakes. Pour the chocolate from a teaspoon or from a bag with the corner snipped off.
  • You can use milk chocolate instead of dark; the result will be sweeter and softer.

Why it works

Melted chocolate is around 40 °C, the ice cream in the machine around −10 °C. A thin layer of cocoa butter sets in a split second and the paddle breaks it up. The chocolate counts towards the composition — it adds fat and solids, which is why the milk base is a little lighter than in plain vanilla.

Sources