Rain, rain… go away. Come again another day.

…please?

The weather has been crazy of late. One minute we have a torrential deluge of rain and the next the temperature rises, sun comes out, and you get that hopeful feeling for just a second… maybe this is it. Maybe this is finally summer!

And then… pitter-patter. More rain.

It was on such a day that I threw together this quick–yet relatively traditional–gelato for Lucas and our niece Maria who we were baby-sitting for the afternoon. They’d both been so patient while I poked around a cookware shop and a bookshop. (Admittedly they did spend ages playing in a toyshop, too. And okay… so I really wanted ice cream, too!)

Stracciatella means “torn apart” in Italian, but in the case of gelato it means the finest chocolate-chip you’ve ever had: cool vanilla ice-cream flecked with tiny pieces of milk chocolate which melt quickly on your tongue alongside the ice-cream. It’s odd how such a simple flavour can take you by surprise. I only added the chocolate as a fun touch for the kids, but it really was fantastic.

This is a Philadelphia-style ice-cream which means that it is egg-free and takes moments to put together. It’s totally kid friendly, especially when you start drizzling chocolate into the ice-cream maker and you suddenly find two little helpers beside you…

Stracciatella Gelato

375ml full-fat milk
250ml double cream
125ml sweetened condensed milk
50g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or to taste)
pinch of salt
100g good milk chocolate
1/2 teaspoon sunflower (or other unflavoured oil)

Stir together the milk, cream, condensed milk and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Add the vanilla extract and salt. Ideally chill mixture for an hour before churning in an ice-cream machine.

While the mixture churns, break the chocolate into small chunks and place in a bowl with the oil. Microwave carefully until fully melted. Cool slightly then begin drizzling it into the ice-cream maker from a fork over the half-churned ice-cream. Keep drizzling it all in, trying to get the finest strands of chocolate possible. When ice-cream is ready, scrape into a tub and freeze for a couple of hours to firm it up.