Coffee Gelato Recipe

There’s nothing I love more than coffee, except maybe a biscotti with my coffee.  And then there is coffee gelato with biscotti.

Biscotti is actually short for “biscotti di Prato” meaning a twice-baked cake from the Italian city of Prato. While I’ve never been to Prato, if their claim to fame is biscotti and the slow food movement, then I need to add it to my list of cities to visit next time I’m in Italy.

So for my latest Summer Gelato Recipe series I combined one of my favorite flavors in the whole world with the fine art of Italian ice cream — coffee gelato. Enjoy!

How To Make Coffee Gelato (Step-by-Step Photos)

First, start by gathering together your ingredients. The secret to making the gelato texture soft and creamy is to bring the eggs to room temperature before making the gelato. But if you want to save time, add them to a bowl of hot water.

Coffee Gelato Ingredients

Here’s a list of what you’ll need to gather to make coffee gelato.

• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 shot of espresso, chilled (Or 1 tbsp water & 1 tbsp instant coffee mix)

Mixing Together Gelato Base

The base for any gelato starts with egg yolks and sugar. Remember the tip I gave above about bringing the yolks to room temperature so they blend more smoothly.  

Using a fork, whisk together egg yolks and sugar in a medium-sized bowl until the volume doubles (becomes frothy) and the color becomes a light yellow.

Tempering Gelato Base On Stovetop

Next, add the milk and cream to a medium saucepan on low-to-medium heat. Blend the milk and cream by slowly mixing using a wooden spoon or whisk until a foam forms around the edges.

Then, add the egg and sugar mixture to the saucepan with milk and cream. Continually stir until well blended and the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

The coffee gelato base should have the coloring of a creamy custard at this stage.

Add a shot of chilled (or room temperature) espresso. As a substitute for espresso, a tablespoon of instant coffee mixed with a teaspoon of water will work just fine. Why espresso instead of coffee? It has a more intense flavor that will hold up well when blending with the milk, egg yolks and cream.

Blend all together gently with a whisk until smooth and uniform in color.

Pour the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer into a bowl. This will remove any solid pieces of egg and create a more smooth even texture.

Cover and chill the gelato mixture for a minimum of four hours or let it set overnight in the refrigerator.

For your final step, add the gelato mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to your ice cream machine manufacturer’s instructions.

Once it is frozen, the consistency will be thick and spoonable. You can eat it like this, straight out of the ice cream maker. The texture will be like a dreamy soft serve.

Or you can spoon the coffee gelato into a freezer-safe container and freeze it overnight for a more solid, scoop-able texture.

Coffee Gelato Toppings

Once you’re ready to serve, you can scoop your coffee gelato straight onto a cone, just like you’d have it in Italy. Or, scoop it into a dish and add toppings. Here are a few of our favorite things to serve with coffee gelato:

• biscotti
• almond slivers
• chocolate chips
• toasted coconut flakes
• sprinkle of cocoa powder
• sprinkle of cinnamon

 

Coffee Gelato Recipe

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Updated 2021