Kelly's Chocolate Gelato

Gelato can come in any flavor imaginable, but for chocolate lovers, this is Price’s basic, beautiful, smooth, creamy recipe for gelato that will give you everything you desire when you crave chocolate. Serve it with any of the cookies in the previous section and you’ve got a very special dessert.

•  Combine the cocoa powder and half the sugar in a small bowl. Stir in just enough milk to make a paste.
•  Place the rest of the milk in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Slowly pour about 1⁄4 cup hot milk into the paste, whisking constantly.
•  Stir the paste back into the boiled milk and continue cooking over low heat. Simmer for 5–7 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from the heat.
•  Beat together the egg yolks and the remaining sugar until pale. Add just a few tablespoons of the hot milk mixture to the yolks while beating. Then add the yolk mixture to the hot milk mixture, beating constantly.
•  Return the pan to the heat and cook over medium until the temperature reaches 185ºF (use a candy thermometer clipped to the side of the saucepan). Remove from the heat.
• Strain the mixture into a large bowl using a fine-mesh strainer. Stir in the vanilla extract. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Freeze in your ice-cream machine according to the machine’s directions. Store in the freezer.