Dark Chocolate Orange Gelato

It's not over, yet. . . summer, that is! There is still plenty of time to utilize homemade ice cream as a refuge from lingering August heat.

When we made our move from Illinois to Iowa, it only made sense to assume that our ice cream making would come to an abrupt halt while we unpacked our kitchen and settled into our new home. My dad was confident, however, that the ice cream machine would resume its work within a week of the move. He was right. We were quick to crank out a couple of batches of mango sorbet (recipe courtesy of David Lebovitz), and blueberry gelato (recipe adapted from Daziano), as well as our own recipes for strawberry, chocolate, banana, and cookies and cream.

One flavor I've been contemplating but have not gotten around to this summer is dark chocolate orange gelato--a family favorite.

Dark Chocolate Orange Gelato

Ingredients:
-2 cups whole milk
-5 egg yolks
-3/4 cups sugar
-1/4 cup light corn syrup
-zest of 3 oranges
-4 oz of dark chocolate, chopped (it helps to put the chocolate in the freezer before chopping)
-1/4 cup cocoa


1. Combine egg yolks, sugar, corn syrup, and zest in a medium bowl and beat together until creamy.
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan at about medium-high heat, preferably by using a double boiler or placing the saucepan in a larger pot filled with water, as this prevents the milk mixture from boiling.
3. Once the milk mixture is warm, temper the egg mixture by scooping small amounts of the milk and gradually adding to the eggs, stirring with each addition.
4. After adding about 2/3 of the milk to the eggs, pour the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
5. Stir for about 5 minutes until thickened. The custard will visibly stick to the back of a wooden spoon.
6. Remove saucepan from heat. Add chopped chocolate and sift in cocoa, using a whisk to mix until the custard is an even color.
7. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
8. Strain custard with a fine mesh strainer to remove scrambled eggs and orange zest.
9. Freeze according to individual ice cream maker instructions.