Truffle Oil Gelato

I was browsing through the Fat Duck Cook Book (Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant), and found an interesting theory when it comes to ice cream:

  1. The more fat in the ice cream, the longer it takes for the flavour to emerge.
  2. Likewise, the more fat there is, the longer the flavour lingers.
  3. The less fat in the ice cream, the quicker the flavour shows up.
  4. As flavour in ice cream is linked to fat content, the less fat, the faster the flavour dissipates.

truffle oil ice cream3

I thought this was useful because my amazing wife gave me a bottle of Truffle oil and I’d been wanting to use it in ice cream for ages. The problem was that Truffle oil is incredibly rich, so having an ice cream base that was already luxuriously rich  and creamy would just push things over the top, and you wouldn’t be able to handle more than a tea spoon full without having to lie down for a while.

Always make sure you use decent truffle oil. The money you save is not worth it unless you like metallic after-tastes and your hair falling out
Always make sure you use decent truffle oil. The money you save is not worth it unless you like metallic after-tastes and your hair falling out

This ice cream recipe is brilliant for Truffle oil gelato because it’s so light that almost as soon as you put it in your mouth it’s gone. The flavour comes and goes like a Bugatti Veyron and you’re left going “Wow! Where did that come from?!”.

This is the Mofo Keyser Soze of ice cream - and just like that, it's gone.
This is the Mofo Keyser Soze of ice cream – and just like that, it’s gone.

Heston’s amazingly brilliant book (also from my aforementioned amazing wife) deals with concepts and ratios when it comes to ice cream so I had to do some calculating in the kitchen.

Here is the recipe:

  • 200g Sugar
  • 200g Egg Yolks (about 12 eggs! Luckily egg whites freeze well)
  • 1L Milk
  • 60g Creamer
  • 50g Cream
  • 2ml White Truffle oil (Seriously, you do not need more than that)
Pencil sharpenings in some oil make for great family gifts. Seriously, don't cheap out when buying this stuff, it will last a long time and you wont cringe every time you think of it.
Pencil sharpenings in some oil make for great family gifts. Seriously, don’t cheap out when buying this stuff, it will last a long time and you wont cringe every time you think of it.

 

Method:

Mix everything and slowly heat to 75°C, this is to kill any bacteria but not too hot to scramble the eggs.

Cool mixture down to prevent overcooking.

Let it age in the fridge for at least 8 hours. This allows for up to 60% of the oil in the mixture to solidify back into solid fat droplets. Do not skip this step, it’s a shlep but worth it.

Put it in an ice cream maker. If you do not have an ice cream maker you can also do this.

This goes really well with fresh mint.

Here's my White Truffle Gelato, with mint and orange rind candy.
Here’s my White Truffle Gelato, with mint and orange rind candy.

I hope you try this out and let me know what you think – as always comments are welcomed and encouraged.