Summer means thoughts of gelato, ice cream and sorbet. With the scorching temperature, the Cube ice cream machine has become my best friend.
The Italian-made machine is designed for professionals. It has a capacity of 1.5 liters and makes gelato, ice cream and sherbet in 30 minutes. The process takes much less time with a well-chilled base. The finished product is always consistently smooth and silky.
The Cube operates like a toy, so easy to use. Unlike other machines, it is also easy to clean.
Massimo Molinari, president of TK Food Europe, which distributes the Cube machine, has had a 30-year love affair with gelato. He shares his recipes and tips so you can create your frozen delight concoction.
Gelato means “frozen” in Italian. The term generally refers to Italian-style ice cream.
Molinari says that gelato is made with all-natural ingredients and churned by the Cube at lower speed, so it does not contain as much air, is denser, its flavor more intense than regular ice cream.
When making gelato, Molinari emphasizes that one must use the freshest ingredients—milk, cream, ripe fruits, etc.
Once churned, gelato must be consumed immediately, says Molinari—the shortest possible time between preparation and serving is best. Gelato is not intended to be stored for weeks or months, unlike ice cream.
Keep in mind, notes Molinari, the balancing of ingredients. Gelato should be creamy without containing excessive fat. Total fat content from various sources (fat from milk, from cream, from eggs, etc.) should be lower than 10 percent.
It is served a little softer, at slightly higher temperature, than ice cream.
Here are Molinari’s gelato, ice cream and sorbet recipes.
Vanilla: Milk-based recipe (Doppiapanna)
240 g fresh cream
520 g fresh whole milk
200 g granulated white sugar
One vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
Combine ingredients, including scraped seeds from vanilla beans.
Blend well with immersion blender or high-speed mixer. Skim foam.
Put mixture in the Cube and churn. Or follow your ice cream machine’s instructions.
Serve with fresh fruits or syrup of choice.
Vanilla: Milk-based recipe with eggs (Crema)
650 g fresh whole milk
130 g egg yolks
175 g granulated white sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
Combine ingredients in saucepan, including scraped vanilla seeds and pod. Whisk well.
Cook to 85°C while stirring. Chill mixture to 3°C.
Remove vanilla pod. Put mixture in the Cube. Freeze and churn, or follow your ice cream machine’s instructions.
Serve with fresh fruits or with syrups of choice.
Chocolate ice cream
350 g fresh milk
350 g fresh cream
200 g granulated sugar
140 g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
50 g egg yolks
Follow instructions of Crema above (milk-based recipe with eggs). Omit vanilla.
Mango Sherbet
500 g fresh clean mango pulp
320 g water
170 g sugar
Combine and blend ingredients with an immersion blender.
Transfer to the Cube to freeze and churn, or follow your ice cream machine’s instructions.
Strawberry Sherbet
500 g fresh strawberries
150-175 g granulated sugar, adjust according to desired sweetness
250 g water
2 tbsp lemon juice
Prepare syrup: Combine water and sugar in a saucepan. Mix.
Cook syrup until sugar is dissolved, around 10 minutes. Cool syrup.
Wash and cut strawberries.
Put syrup and strawberries in a blender. Add lemon. Blend.
Transfer to the Cube to freeze and churn, or follow your ice cream machine’s instructions.
Since I started using Cube, the quality and consistency of my ice cream have greatly improved. I have played around with my base recipes, adding fresh fruits, fruit purées, flavorings and nut pastes, mixing and matching them.
For information regarding the Cube, call 0917-8141243.
I will be doing a repeat of our Cube ice cream session on May 27. Call 0917-5543700, 0908-2372346 for inquiries and reservations.