“My Nonna has always made everything from scratch, from rolling pasta out on the kitchen table to infusing lemon rind in alcohol for months on end to make the best limoncello I’ve ever tasted. She inspired me to start my own food business in London and make fine, Italian gelato.
While she sadly doesn’t cook anymore, I will forever remember her pottering around in the kitchen and watching her prepare endless feasts for all her family and four granddaughters. The smells and aromas that filled her Mediterranean kitchen will always be present. I am sharing her recipe for Fior di Latte gelato, a very traditional Italian milk flavour which literally translates as ‘Flower of Milk’. It is where I started when adapting and creating my own recipes. You’ll need a probe thermometer and plenty of ice to make an ice bath.”
Founder of Nonna’s Gelato Sophia Brothers, UK
Makes about 1 litre
Ingredients
650ml whole milk
120ml double cream
180g unrefined sugar
45g skimmed milk powder
1 tsp cornflour
Method
Place the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat. While it’s warming, place the sugar, skimmed milk powder and cornflour in a measuring jug and mix well.
Using a probe thermometer, measure the temperature of the milk and cream. When it reaches 40°C, add the dry ingredients. Whisk together and stir continuously with a heat proof spatula until it reaches 85°C.
Fill the sink with ice and cold water to create an ice bath. Plunge the saucepan into the ice bath and stir occasionally. You need to bring the temperature down to 10°C within 30 minutes.
When the mix is cooled, place in a sealed container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
You’re now ready to churn it into gelato. Start by passing it through a fine sieve.
Blitz with a hand blender.
Pour into your ice cream machine and churn until frozen.
Scoop your freshly churned gelato into a container and cover with greaseproof paper and a tight fitting lid. Place in the freezer and consume within one month.