I moved to Brisbane from Sydney when I was five years old. I don't remember much from back then but I do remember the first music lesson that I ever went to. It was in a big house, not far from home and we all sat around on an over-sized, maroon classic rug. You know the style, it looked a little like this:
I don't remember much from the actual class, just the rug and my music teacher. She had a daughter the same age as me called L and it was on that day that we became friends.
Fast forward 22 years (wow!) and today is L's Birthday. That's right, not only is she one of my oldest friends but we're just 20 days apart.
Whenever we had ice-cream or went out for ice-cream when we were little and someone asked L which flavours she would like her response was always the same 'chocolate and vanilla - classic flavours for a classic girl.' So today, in honor of the classic girl's Birthday, I am sharing a super-quick and easy recipe for vanilla gelato.
It doesn't result in super smooth gelato like you would buy at the gelateria but it is a wonderfully easy home-made version that you could adapt to make any flavour you like. I like to eat it straight out of the churner while it's still nice and soft. This recipe literally takes 5 minutes prep work then the rest of the time it's chilling in the fridge or churning in the ice-cream maker.
All you need is sugar, milk, cream, eggs and vanilla. The recipe says to use vanilla essence but I like the little black vanilla dots in my ice-cream.
Now this is just how simple it is. No cooking required. Just throw everything in the blender and blend it up until it's nice and smooth.
Pour it into a bowl and cover the mixture then refrigerate it for 2 hours.
Set up your ice-cream maker and turn it on.
Pour in the mixture and leave the machine to work its magic.
This is when I could eat the whole lot of it straight from the machine. I might have filled it a little bit past the STOP line hence the over-flow. If you let it churn for a little bit longer you could probably serve it up at this stage. It's definitely my preference.
Otherwise, spread it into a container and freeze it until you're ready to serve it.
Ice-cream is a very tricky thing to photograph let me tell you. I managed to get a few pics before it melted away. Serve it with a little biscuit or wafer, ooh or some chocolate fudge sauce. Enjoy and Happy Birthday L!
What about you? What's your favourite flavour?
Recipe
Super easy vanilla gelato - Happy Birthday L!
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups of milk next time I would probably reduce the milk by half a cup and up the cream by half a cup
- ½ cup cream
- 260 g 9oz eggs (I used 5)
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract I used vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Pour the chilled mixture into the ice-cream maker and churn until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Transfer it to a container and freeze.
- Gelato will keep for up to 5 days in the freezer.
Amanda says
Hello just wondering why you didnt cook this base? Are you sure this is ok with the raw eggs? Thanks
Claire says
Hi Amanda. You just need to make sure that the eggs are super fresh.
Glamorous Glutton says
Thanks for an easy ice cream recipe. I often use vanilla paste it's so easy to use. GG
Claire says
I love the syrupy consistency of it too.
Celia says
Too easy, Claire! And it looks soooo moreish! :)
Claire says
It is Celia. It is!
The Café Sucré Farine says
Claire - this is so fun to make this at home! Happy Birthday to your dear friend!
Are you sure that we're not soul-sisters? I A:WAYS mashed up my ice cream and ate it like soup SO much better that way!
Claire says
Oh Chris that is just to weird! So many things that we like the same way!!
Daisy@Nevertoosweet says
Yum :) I used a similar recipe when I first my ice-cream machine! I'm just like you! I like the soft 'just churned' ice-cream too I don't really like it when ice-cream is too hard hehe :D
Claire says
I'm glad I'm not the only one. When I was little I used to mash it up to make it sloppy!
Christina @ The Hungry Australian says
Lovely vanilla gelati recipe, Claire. This looks absolutely delicious.
Claire says
Thanks Christina!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
I love using the vanilla bean paste too-I like to see the dots but I also like the flavour! :D Plus it's easier to use than vanilla beans :)
Claire says
It is so much easier than beans you're right. It's a little less expensive too.