This delightful summer recipe uses real cherries and vanilla beans. If you cannot find vanilla beans, substitute with 1/2 teaspoon of 100% real vanilla extract. Almond extract is also recommended, as it deepens the flavor of the cherries. The recipe makes about 5 cups of gelato.
Gelato Ingredients
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup sugar
Cherry Flavoring
- 1 cup cherries
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon 100% almond extract
- 1 teaspoon 100% vanilla extract
Scrape the vanilla bean seeds from the vanilla pod and mix with the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the milk reaches a boil, remove the saucepan from the heat.
Mix together the sugar and cornstarch, then add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk and whisk until smooth. Whisk this mixture into the remaining milk in the saucepan. Bring everything to a simmer, whisking continually for 5 minutes. Do not let it boil.
Filter the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a cold bowl, or a bowl set on ice. Cool the gelato batter to room temperature. Place some wax paper over the top of the gelato and place the bowl into a refrigerator for 1 hour.
In the meantime, prepare your cherries. Take the cherries, sugar, and the extracts and process them in a food processor or blender. Chill the pulp for 1 hour.
After everything has cooled, take the cherries and their juice and mix them into the gelato batter. Pour this mixture into your gelato maker of choice and let the machine mix and freeze the gelato. At this point, the gelato is ready to eat. You may also scoop it out into an airtight container and place it in your freezer for later enjoyment.
The cherry gelato made from this recipe should be eaten within 1 week. Gelato kept longer than 1 week may lose its flavor or take on freezer burn.
