Here's the one I'm making today. It's Giada's Hazelnut Gelato and I'm really looking forward to it. I chopped up some Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Balls and frozen them to use as an ''add-in'' towards the last of the freezing.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed, for garnish

In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves. Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze. To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with hazelnuts.

Here is the Peach Gelato I made to go with the Peach Summer Torte I made. It doesn't have eggs, but the taste is very bright and goes splendidly with the torte.

Peach Gelato

1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 1/4 lb fully ripe peaches, peeled halved and pitted
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream

Put sugar and 2 cups water in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then raise heat, bring syrup to a boil and boil 5 minutes. Transfer syrup to a bowl and let it cool completely. Puree peaches in a food processor blender. Measure out 2 cups of puree and stir in lemon juice. Add puree to cooled sugar syrup and chill thoroughly. Whip cream into soft peaks and fold it into fruit mixture. Transfer mixture to ice cream machine and freeze according to machine's directions.

Some of the best Chcolate Gelato I've ever eaten was Ina Garten's Deeply Chocolate Gelato.

Deeply Chocolate Gelato
Ina Garten

2 1/4 cups whole milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 extra-large egg yolks
2 tablespoons Mexican coffee flavor liqueur
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Large pinch kosher salt
8 chocolates, roughly chopped, optional

Heat the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar in a 2-quart saucepan, until the sugar dissolves and the milk starts to simmer. Add the cocoa powder and chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour into a heat-proof measuring cup.

Place the egg yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and very thick. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the hot chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Pour the egg and chocolate mixture back into the 2-quart saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. A candy thermometer will register about 180 degrees F. Don't allow the mixture to boil!

Pour the mixture through a sieve into a bowl and stir in the coffee liqueur, vanilla, and salt. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard and chill completely.

Pour the custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. Stir in the roughly chopped chocolate, if using, and freeze in covered containers. Allow the gelato to thaw slightly before serving.

This one is an absolute favorite.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1-1/2 t. vanilla extract
8 oz. cream cheese
3 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
10 oz. frozen strawberries, thawed (or fresh)

Heat cream over medium-high heat, just to the point where it begins to foam. Remove from heat.

In a stainless steel bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, egg yolks and sugar till light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Slowly pour the heated cream into the mix. Be sure to continue whisking so the eggs don’t curdle. Strain the mixture.

Place a metal bowl over a saucepan of water and stir constantly. Cook until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Immediately remove custard from the heat and stir to cool. Stir in vanilla extract and strawberry puree. Cool in an ice bath, until mixture has chilled. Pour into the ice cream freezer and freeze.

Coconut Ice Cream (if made with cream)
Coconut Gelato (if made with milk)

1 cup milk
1 - 15 oz. can cream of coconut (Also known as Coco Lopez)
1-1/2 cups heavy cream or additional milk
1-1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Toast the coconut in the oven and let cool. Put the coconut in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Combine the milk and cream of coconut in the container of a food processor or blender, and mix thoroughly. Stir in cream and toasted coconut. Pour into the container of an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

*If you try this at home, be sure to use thick, sweet cream of coconut, also known as Coco Lopez, which is found in the drink mixer department of most grocery stores.

Note: We thought the Coconut was some of the best ice cream we’ve ever eaten. The other recipes are among the best I've tried so far, and you can't go wrong with any of them.

Loves2Cook4six -- thank you so much for posting that fantastic deal. I'd been wanting an ice cream maker, and couldn't help myself when I saw your post. Mine arrived yesterday, and now is frozen and ready to go!

And Claire_de_luna -- thank you so much for posting those fantastic looking recipes! Can't wait to try them, and its great to have recipes that I know are tried-and-true.

I'll post my new ice cream creations as they come...

There's one more I'm going to list here. I haven't made it yet, but really want to try it. If someone else does, please report back. It's from Cook's Illustrated and is their Burnt Sugar Ice Cream.

Burnt Sugar Ice Cream
Cooks Illustrated

Once the sugar syrup starts to take on color, it will darken quickly, so swirl the syrup in the pan, removing the pan from the heat for a few seconds at a time as you work. You also do not want a really light syrup herethis is Burnt Sugar Ice CreamÂso go for a rich, deep mahogany color instead of a syrup the color of Budweiser.

4 inch piece vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
1 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 egg
2 egg yolks

Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, scraping both sides with a paring knife. Reserve both the pod and the scrapings. Combine milk, 1/4 cup sugar, heavy cream, and reserved vanilla pod and scrapings in heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. (If using vanilla extract, do not add it now.) Bring mixture to 175 degrees, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, beat whole egg and yolks and 1/4 cup sugar with electric mixer or whisk until pale yellow and thick, about 2 minutes with mixer or 4 minutes by hand.

Remove 1/2 cup hot milk mixture from saucepan and add slowly to beaten egg yolks while whisking vigorously. Whisk this mixture back into saucepan. Over low heat, cook mixture until it reaches 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, stirring constantly (about 5 minutes). Custard should be thickness of heavy cream but should not boil or bubble. If mixture starts to give off a fair amount of steam, take off heat for a few moments and stir vigorously. This is a sign that milk-cream mixture is about to boil.

Combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar with 1/4 cup water in small saucepan over medium heat. Do not stir but swirl pan vigorously until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring syrup to boil. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until syrup takes on color. Swirl pan constantly at this point, moving pan off and on heat to slow down cooking. Remove from heat when syrup is dark and mahogany-colored. Pour into custard mixture (make sure there is a lot of extra room in the saucepanÂthe custard will bubble and froth) and whisk for about a minute. (The sugar syrup will harden at first and then dissolve as you whisk.)

Pour custard through fine-mesh strainer into nonreactive bowl. Remove vanilla pod from strainer and add to mixture. If using vanilla extract, add it to the custard now. Place bowl into a large bowl filled halfway with ice water to cool. When mixture reaches room temperature, cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate. It is best to refrigerate mixture overnight or for at least 6 hours. Newer machines with removable liners that are chilled in the freezer cannot successfully make ice cream with a warm custard base.)

When chilled, remove vanilla pod (if using), stir, and place into ice-cream machine. Follow manufacturer's directions. When done, place ice cream in the freezer to freeze solid. (The ice cream will still be soft after churning in the machine.)

I wish I had been in time to get one of those machines, they were all sold out by the time I checked in :( Oh well, it just would have made me make ice cream more often I guess, & I don't really need it.

I got this one from allrecipes.com and really like it.
Cinnamon Ice Cream
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

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DIRECTIONS

1. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the sugar and half-and-half. When the mixture begins to simmer, remove from heat, and whisk half of the mixture into the eggs. Whisk quickly so that the eggs do not scramble. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, and stir in the heavy cream. Continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat, and whisk in vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside to cool.
2. Pour cooled mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

My apricot tree has literally exploded this year with apricots. Only 10 days of delicious, tree-ripe apricots falling from the tree several times a day, and the tree produces so much fruit, we're scrambling to think of ways to use it. So, last week, we made 2 batches of apricot ice cream, using apricots from my tree. We used a basic no-cook vanilla ice cream recipe from an old Better Homes & Gardens cook book, and added apricots -- lots of apricots because they are so delicately flavored. We made a batch on Friday, and again on Saturday. We used a 6-quart freezer, in a hand-cranked freezer that my parents purchased in 1949 from Montgomery Wards. It works perfectly, and doesn't take long or much elbow grease to turn/make. The ice cream was fabulous! It's now in containers in the freezer, and I plan on serving it for dessert at a large dinner party I'm hosting next weekend, where paella will be the main course.

Claire de Luna, regarding your burnt sugar ice cream recipe. I have a family favorite called Caramel Ice Cream, that has some similarities to the recipe you posted. It's my dad's favorite ice cream, and he grew up eating it -- he's 87. I confess it's my favorite recipe too, and I have wonderful memories of family gatherings where caramel ice cream was always made and served. I've never tasted anything like it, although Haagen Daz's Dulce de Leche comes close. Like the recipe you got, it does require a cooked custard base. It takes some work to make, but it is absolutely wonderful, and the first taste of caramel ice cream erases the memories of the effort required to prepare it. Let me know if you'd like the recipe and I'll be glad to share it.

When I use my Cuisinart ice cream maker to make kefir ice cream I put everything in the machine, straight from the fridge. What are the reasons behind heating the cream/milk and sugar other than killing bacteria?

Beth, I'd LOVE your Caramel Ice Cream recipe. Thanks for offering to share it. It will be next on my list to make, and I had a *feeling* when I saw the recipe for Burnt Sugar. It's fun to know it's you and your dad's favorite. I'll look forward to making it, especially your tried and true recipe.

Just a little note...The Hazelnut Gelato is incredible! If you like Nutella, this will be a favorite; one taste and it already is here. Be sure to put the chopped (and frozen) Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Balls in the last five minutes; it really adds a lot to the finished product. It's firming up in the freezer. It's so Good!

Thanks for all the recipes....hope to get my machine by this weekend.
Please try my very berry sorbet...
Very Berry Sorbet
3/4 cup sugar or Splenda
1 cup water
Dissolve sugar in water in saucepan and cool.
3 1/2 cups of berries (I used frozen) any combo.
Put into a blender and puree with the sugar syrup.
Add 1/2 cup heavy cream (I use my homemade plain yogurt.) You can omit the cream, but is does make it creamer.
Pour into ice cream maker and process until thick. Put in freezer container and let set for 2 hours.
You may have to soften it in the microwave for a few minutes as it does get very firm.

Linda

Claire, both Nutella and Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls are my favorites. Nutella is a memory taste from my childhood growing up in Italy. I'm sure, I'll use your recipe. Thank you!

Here's the family recipe -- continuously made for at least 80 years. My grandmother (who would have been 112 years old) made this recipe all of her life...through the Dust Bowl years, and everything. The key is to caramelize the sugar enough. I learned to make this ice cream at my grandmother's side, so I learned how to sufficiently caramelize the sugar...it's based on getting the right color. You may need to experiment. Do NOT over caramelize the sugar, or else you'll have burned sugar ice cream, which I don't think would taste very good. Insufficiently caramelized sugar yields something with a very faint, indistinct taste. I've provided 2 versions of the recipe: 1 for a 4 quart freezer, and 1 for a 6 quart freezer.

Caramel Ice Cream --- Yields 4 quarts

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup cold water

Custard:
1 quart milk
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
8 egg yolks

Filling freezer:
Caramelized sugar syrup & cooked custard
1 quart + 1 pint cream -- I use 1 pint cream & the rest is Half & Half
Enough milk to fill freezer

Melt 2 cups sugar in a cast iron skillet, starting on high, then turning heat down to medium. Stir till all lumps are dissolved, and the melted sugar bubbles all over. Do not let it get too dark....look for a rich mahogany color. Very carefully, add 1 cup cold water -- BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET SPLATTERED WITH THE HOT SUGAR LIQUID -- Use the skillet lid to protect you -- and stir over heat. Cover pan with skillet lid while you make the custard.

Custard:
When making custard, mix flour with a bit of the milk to make a paste. Add rest of custard's ingredients and cook. Be careful not to scorch....use either a low output burner, or a double boiler. (I cook directly over a 9,000 BTU gas burner -- on a low flame setting, where I can melt chocolate without scorching --, and have never scorched the milk mixture.) Cook custard till it thickens and begins to gently bubble. It's done when it coats a spoon. Stir often to prevent sticking and keep ingredients mixed.

Reheat sugar syrup. When warm, add custard to it and cook till thick. Strain mixture through strainer to remove lumps. When cool, refrigerate over night. This over night cooling increases the yield of the ice cream.

When you prepare the freezer, pour chilled mixture in, add the cream, then Half & Half, then as much milk as it takes to reach the "Fill" line of the freezer.

Caramel Ice Cream --- Yields 6 quarts

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup cold water

Custard:
1 1/2 quart milk
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 heaping tablespoons flour
8 egg yolks

Filling freezer:
Caramelized sugar syrup & cooked custard
2 quarts cream -- I use 2 pints cream & the rest is Half & Half
Enough milk to fill freezer

Melt 3 cups sugar in a cast iron skillet, starting on high, then turning heat down to medium. Stir till all lumps are dissolved, and the melted sugar bubbles all over. Do not let it get too dark....look for a rich mahogany color. Very carefully, add 1 1/2 cups cold water -- BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET SPLATTERED WITH THE HOT SUGAR LIQUID -- Use the skillet lid to protect you -- and stir over heat. Cover pan with skillet lid while you make the custard.

Custard:
When making custard, mix flour with a bit of the milk to make a paste. Add rest of custard's ingredients and cook. Be careful not to scorch....use either a low output burner, or a double boiler. (I cook directly over a 9,000 BTU gas burner -- on a low flame setting, where I can melt chocolate without scorching --, and have never scorched the milk mixture.) Cook custard till it thickens and begins to gently bubble. It's done when it coats a spoon. Stir often to prevent sticking and keep ingredients mixed.

Reheat sugar syrup. When warm, add custard to it and cook till thick. Strain mixture through strainer to remove lumps. When cool, refrigerate over night. This over night cooling increases the yield of the ice cream.

When you prepare the freezer, pour chilled mixture in, add the cream, then Half & Half, then as much milk as it takes to reach the "Fill" line of the freezer.

Claire, I am going to make the Hazelnut Gelato tomorrow. Any hints on where to find Hazelnuts in the middle of summer?

My all time absolutely favorite taste explosion ice cream is the Chocolate Chili Ice Cream from Cafe Pasqual's in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Imagine heat and ice in the same bite.

The recipe is in the book of the same name by Katherine Kagel but a modified version of it is on epicurious.com.

And just in case you don't have pequins on hand, I am offering to RAK some to the first person who posts here that they want some. (You must have your email set up so I can get your address :) )

Oh Wow -- WOW! My life may never be the same!

Just made my first batch! I used a recipe for gelato from Mark Bittman, which uses cornstarch instead of eggs to thicken. I made his variation that calls for jam, using homemade black raspberry jam, and then added chocolate chunks. My mind is blown. I made this fairly light -- 2 cups whole milk, just 1/2 cup heavy cream -- and it is still incredibly creamy and smooth. Here's the recipe as I made it, with a link to Bittman's original recipe with other variations below...

Black Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Gelato

2 cups whole milk, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup black raspberry jam
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup chocolate chunks (could have used more!)

1. Put cream plus plus 1.5 cups milk with the sugar and vanilla in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until mixture begins to steam.

2. In a bowl, blend cornstarch and remaining milk, there should be no lumps. Add cornstarch mixture to pot. Cook, stirring, until it starts to thicken and barely reaches a boil, about 5 minutes. Immediately reduce heat to very low and stir for 5 minutes or so until thick.

3. Chill until cool, then whisk in the jam. Pour into theice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturerâs instructions, adding chocolate chunks at the very end.

Thank You Beth! This will be my next experiment...I'm looking forward to it.

loves2cook4six, I don't know where to get hazelnuts right now. That's why I used the candy, as it has one hazelnut built right in, which I found at my local Target. Good luck; I think you're gonna' love it.

I also love the idea of Chocolate Chili Ice Cream. I may have to add that to the list. I would take a few pequins if you have some extra, just to try this. Thank you for your offer!

I've made Linda's Very Berry Sorbet and absolutely love it. I made it for my DS & his wife, sending home the leftovers with them. They were wanting more!

In addition to Linda's Very Berry Sorbet, I've made:

Birthday Cake Ice Cream (adding in crushed malted milk balls):

Grape Sorbet

Watermelon-Lime Sorbet

Limoncello-Mint Sorbet with Blackberries

I'm anxious to try Fearlessem's gelato as well as the other recipes in this thread. Yum!

Lori

Lori,
Could you please post your Limoncello-Mint Sorbet? It sounds like something I would like.

No problem, Daylilydayzed. Here it is:

Limoncello-Mint Sorbet with Fresh Blackberries

Limoncello, the citrusy Italian liqueur, brightens this sorbet. It's nice to have a bottle on hand to splash with soda in a spritzer or macerate with fruit for a quick dessert.

2 cups water
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup limoncello
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 large lemons)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
2 cups blackberries
Lemon slices (optional)

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; add lemon juice and mint. Cover and chill.

2. Strain juice mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon sorbet into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm. Serve with blackberries; garnish with lemon slices, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1/2 cup sorbet and 1/4 cup berries)

CALORIES 184 ; FAT 0.2g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.1g); CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 13mg; CARBOHYDRATE 39.3g; SODIUM 1mg; PROTEIN 0.6g; FIBER 2g; IRON 0.2mg

Cooking Light, MAY 2009

Lori

Thanks so much for the recipe, Lori!

I followed the tips from the other thread and put my thermometer into the freezer last night. I was a little above zero so I turned it down. Last night I made Cookies cinnamon ice cream and I left the mixture in the fridge overnight. This morning my freezer was a little below zero and the ice cream I made was nice and thick in about 25 minutes.

Yummo!! That recipe is a keeper. I've only had cinnamon ice cream once at a restaurant and I have never forgotten it. Now I can make it at home!! This is so cool.

This afternoon I made fresh peach yogurt from the Cuisinart recipe folder that came with the machine. Their recipe called for canned peaches, but it is peach season. I also used plain yogurt instead of the recommended vanilla, and I added about 3 TBS rum to the mix.

Heavenly!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!
So many great recipes and pics!!!
I got my ice cream maker last Wednesday...have had company and have not had a chance to make any ice cream yet.
I will try all the recipes.

Linda

A few hours after I picked up my brother and his wife from the airport, my sis-in-law told me that she wanted the ice cream maker but she was late in grabbing one. I, right away, told her that I was able to order 1 and it was for her birthday. She was so thrilled! Her gifts included 2 colorful ice cream containers and her own "Perfect Scoop..." recipe book. Later on, I served them my homemade Jackfruit Ice Cream. She had 2 bowls of it! Now, she can't wait to make her own ice cream.

We grew up eating so many different tropical fruits and all weekend long, we spent talking about this fruit and that fruit from our childhood memories. Then, we talked about what sort of tropical fruits we will venture to make ice cream with. Of course, we can only use the fruits that are imported close to our homes here in the US.

Just want to share this because the ice cream maker sure made this visit from my brother and his wife such a memorable one.

Thanks Loves2Cook4Six and all of you that are sharing such yummy recipes!