Raspberry Gelato

Molly and I are really in need of a holiday, some sun and vitamin D. Only a couple of more weeks and he will be totally finished his Masters, and we will be able to get back to some sort of normality. I was reminiscing on our trips to Italy in the past, and started dreaming about the luscious gelato in every imaginable flavour which seemed to be available almost everywhere in Southern Italy and Sicily. When it comes to shop bought ice-cream, really I could take it or leave it. That said, there is something very different about home-made ice cream. Just the thought of it had me all fired up and convinced I needed an ice-cream machine to put all my ice-cream hypotheses to the test. So I got to researching all the different types of machines, considered my budget, read the reviews and decided to keep it in the Kenwood family. I went into Arnott's in Dublin to take the measurements to make sure the base of the ice-cream machine would fit in my freezer and planned on returning the next day to buy it. However, lucky for me, fate intervened and at dinner that evening in my cousin's house, she announced she in fact had said ice-cream machine and didn't use it....and gave it to me as a gift! For those of you who don't have amazing cousin's with random ice-cream machines lurking in their cupboards you can pick this Kenwood IM200 Ice-Cream Maker up from Arnott's for under €40, or it is also  currently in special offer in Currys for €29.95.

Raspberry Gelato

Ingredients
500ml milk
200g sugar
8 egg yolks
50ml cream
500g frozen raspberries

Method
1. Place the base of the ice-cream maker in the freezer a good 12 hours before you start, or as 
    per manufacturers instructions.
2. Place the sugar and milk in a saucepan and gently heat until simmering and the sugar has 
    dissolved.
3. Meanwhile beat the egg yolks until thick. Then add 200 ml of the milk and sugar mixture to  
    the egg yolks and continue to beat.
4. Next add the remaining milk mixture to the egg mixture and mix until well combined. Place in 
    the freezer to cool for 1 hour.
5. Blend the raspberries using a hand-held blender or similar. Stir into the cooled mixture and 
    then pour into the ice-cream machine and turn on for 30-35 minutes or until the gelato has 
    reached a soft, smooth consistency.
6. Serve and enjoy!

E-D's Notes
- When working with this ice-cream machine you need to move fast and the key is....keep 
  everything cold! Put the machine on before even pouring the mixture into the spout as the 
  mixture will start freezing immediately and the churner won't be able to move (lessen learnt, I 
  regret to say this has happened to me before).
- An ice-cream machine is a fairly low cost appliance that can produce pretty amazing things. 
  You might be wondering why you need one? Could you not just stick it in the freezer? Well no, 
  because your ice-cream, gelato or sorbet would be covered in ice-crystals and wouldn't taste 
  too good. For under 30 euro it's a good Christmas present for the ultimate foodie or appliance 
  junkie!
- The above ingredients make quite a bit of gelato, so what I tend to do is make the amount I 
  need as I need it in the ice-cream machine. I put any left over mixture in the fridge, and use it 
  next day to make fresh Gelato as I need it. This way I can get the perfect consistency that isn't 
  too hard from being placed in the freezer.
- Any questions at all just leave me a comment!

Don't forget to enter the 'E-D Does It' Christmas Give-Away for a chance to win 3 really special hand-made porcelain Christmas Decorations! Click on the link and enter now!