Tiramisu Stracciatella Ice-Cream (Sous-Vide)

I grew up eating lots of Tiramisu. "Lot's" is an exaggeration, of course. When I say lots, I mean more than the average person. My Grandfather was Sicilian, and with that, I've eaten just about everything that is considered Italian. I don't recall there ever being a time that Tiramisu was on a menu, and I didn't order this delectable dessert. I've eaten Tiramisu in multiple states across the country with many renditions. 

Like most of my recipes, they all have a beginning, and this Ice-Cream is no different. I was in the store and passed a few Tubs of Mascarpone Cheese and of course, how can you not think of Tiramisu. And yes before you ask, I have made my own version of Tiramisu several times, including the ladyfingers. But since I've been into Ice-Cream lately, I thought about creating an Ice-Cream with Mascarpone Cheese. After pondering a bit about the infamous dessert, I was struck with a vision of a Tiramisu Ice-Cream because of the ingredients used in the dessert. So here we go........

Before we move on to how we actually make this Ice-Cream, I wanted to briefly discuss the ingredients. I am estimating the Butter Fat Percentage at 27%, Total Fat 29%, and Sugar is about 12%. Not for the faint of heart, if you're dieting or planned on doing anything low-fat. I decided on Creme de Cacao instead of the popular Kahlua. In most of the Tiramisu recipes, you will come across they dip the Ladyfingers in alcohol and strong flavored coffee. I've seen recipes that use Rum, Grand Manier, Marsala, Kahlua, and other coffee liqueurs. Since I am not using Ladyfingers hence not dipping anything, I didn't want to overdo it with coffee or coffee liqueurs.
As you can see, I did not use Brewed-Coffee in the recipe but instead went with coffee beans, which will steep in the cream. I used 35 grams, but I love coffee. You can certainly get by with half that amount. You might be wondering why I added Cream and Milk to the recipe when I'm using a Mascarpone Cheese which is 50% Butterfat. To give you some perspective, think about this for a moment. Heavy Creams have a minimum of 36%, and I am using one that comes in at 40%. Milk comes in at 3.5. The Cheese and Heavy Cream are pretty thick too. Anyhow, the addition of Cream and Milk creates the viscosity I desired to make a proper Ice-Cream. 

Stracciatella (Italian, a diminutive of straccia (rag or shred) meaning a little shred, coming from the verb stracciare, to tear plural, stracciatelle is a term used for different types of Italian food.  Think of egg drop soup, which is very popular in Italy. But I'm sure you thought Chinese, weren't you? In Ice-Cream or Gelato, a steady stream of chocolate is poured into the Ice-Cream while it's churning and because it is so cold, it shreds into flecks. There's, of course, the Stracciatella di dufala soft-stretchy cheese which is made using a shredding technique. 

Using a double-boiler bring water to a gentle simmer. Add the Vegetable-Shortening which will melt pretty fast. To this add the small chunks of the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Add the Cocoa-Powder and do the same. 

Pour contents into a measuring cup and bring it to room temp before use.  

And if you are curious this the what I used too.

The steps in this recipe are no different from my other Ice-Cream concoctions. For this recipe you will need a Mixer and if you have a Vitamix even better. 

I now use my Vitamix for all my Ice-Cream recipes, which makes it so easy. I Sous-Vide-Processed everything at 150f at 2 hours.



You can use any mixer you want. Using the tare feature on the scale measure everything starting with the dairy. All in all, my preference is weight to volume when measuring ingredients. Of course, there are exceptions. (Pictures not from this recipe).

I'm going to be very specific, so please pay careful attention. After you add the dairy add the Vanilla Extract, Vanilla Paste, Creme de Cacao, and mix on low for about 10 secs. 


In a separate bowl add 3 Egg Yolks to 80 grams of sugar and whip until the Ribbon stage.  Add this to the mixer and mix on low for about 10 secs.

In a separate bowl add the Skin-Milk-Powder and 80 grams of sugar, Avacream, salt, and mix until thoroughly combined. Add this to the mixer in thirds and mix incrementally until combined.

Measure out Coffee beans and set aside for the moment. 

I placed a large bag into a one-gallon pitcher to provide support and poured in the Ice-Cream Base than topped with coffee beans. Make sure to massage the bag to incorporate the coffee beans. Anyhow SV-Process at 150f for 2 hours.

Strain out the coffee beans and shock Ice-Cream base. 

Shock in a large Ice-Bath. 
I usually refrigerate the base overnight before churning. Although I have an Ice-Cream-Maker with a Compressor (Cuisinart ICE-100), I still stick everything in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Getting everything ice cold before churning will reduce the proliferation of Ice-Crystals. This includes the dasher, bowl, and container the Ice-Cream will be store in too. The base will be stirred at least twice over the 30 minutes.

Churn the Ice-Cream and when it's within about 5 minutes of being done drizzle in the chocolate. When it hits the cold ice cream, it breaks off into little flec of chocolate magic. You have the option of using 1/3 all of the chocolate. So after making this a few times I've settled in on about 2/3's worth. 

ABSOLUTELY DANGEROUSLY DELECTABLE......