The boss's wife

Hazelnut & coffee gelato with hazelnut and white chocolate praline

By: Nick Palumbo
From: Gelato Messina
Makes: 1 kg
Photographer: Billy Law

OK, this is going to sound really lame, but when I was single my pick-up line was, ‘If you were a gelato, what flavour would you be?’

Well, it worked, because that’s exactly the line I used on Kellie, my wife, when I first met her. She said the combination of hazelnut and coffee was her to a T — but I’m not telling why it’s hazelnut and coffee … Anyway, when it came time to think of a name for this flavour, the decision was unanimous.

Domestic

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
650g	milk
145g	sugar
30g	skim milk powder
50g	dextrose
5g	stabiliser
30g	instant coffee powder
90g	hazelnut paste
	Hazelnut & white chocolate praline

Method

Mixing

Put the milk in a double boiler over a medium heat.
Put all the powders, including the coffee, in a bowl and mix until combined. When the milk hits 40°C, whisk in the powders and hazelnut paste and bring the mixture up to 65°C. Keep the mixture at 65°C for 30 minutes, whisking every 5 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a stainless steel bowl and place in an ice bath; chill to 40°C. Cover tightly with foil and put in the freezer, stirring every 10 minutes or so until the mixture drops to 4°C, then place in the fridge and let it age for 4 hours.
Churning

Turn on your gelato maker so it begins the freezing process.
Using a stick blender, blend the mixture for 1 minute, then pour into the gelato maker.
Once the mixture reaches –4°C, scoop out the gelato and transfer to a pre-cooled stainless steel bowl; as you do this, fold the hazelnut and white chocolate praline into the gelato (the praline needs to be in a liquid state; it will set as soon as it comes in contact with the gelato). Cover tightly and immediately place in the freezer.
Serving

The gelato should be served within 2 to 3 hours after placing it in the freezer, or when it reaches –12°C. If it goes below –15°C or is left in the freezer overnight, the texture will be compromised.

Professional

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
	as above

Method

Mixing

Put the milk in a pasteuriser and select high pasteurisation.
Put all the powders, including the coffee, in a bowl and dry mix. When the milk hits 40°C, whisk in the powders and the hazelnut paste; the pasteuriser will take the entire mix to 85°C, then will switch to cooling phase.
Once the pasteuriser runs its cycle and gets down to 4°C, let the mixture age for 4 hours at 4°C.
Churning

Measure an appropriate amount of mixture into a measuring jug and put in a batch freezer. Within 10 to 12 minutes, your mix should be ready for extraction. As the gelato comes out of the churner, fold in the hazelnut and white chocolate praline (the praline needs to be in a liquid state; it will set as soon as it comes in contact with the gelato).
For long-term storage, up to 2 weeks: Put the gelato in a blast freezer for 30 minutes, then store at –18°C. For short-term storage, 2 to 3 days: Put the gelato in a storage freezer at –18°C.
Serving

The serving temperature of the gelato should be around –11°C to –13°C.