Matcha Stracciatella

It’s still ridiculously hot in LA, so that means more ice cream for me! I have always been a huge fan of stracciatella, so I knew I had to make a matcha version. Stracciatella is an ice cream originating from Italy and is usually composed of a vanilla ice cream with sheets of chocolate distributed throughout. It’s sort of like their version of chocolate chip, but in my opinion so much better. Instead of using a vanilla ice cream, this matcha stracciatella has matcha flavored ice cream with the chocolate sheets. Maybe I’m biased, but I think this is the best version of stracciatella I’ve ever tried.

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

• Matcha powder – I always recommend using the highest quality matcha powder for the best flavor and color. For me, that is Aiya culinary grade matcha powder. If you think your matcha powder is lower quality, I would double the amount of matcha you use in this recipe.
• Whole milk & Heavy Cream – Adds creaminess and richness to the ice cream.
• Vanilla extract – Adds flavor to the ice cream. Like I said in recent dessert recipe, I am an almost exclusive vanilla paste user now. It has so much more flavor than vanilla extract, and I love the little black speckles you see. You can substitute with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean. I listed vanilla extract in this recipe instead of vanilla paste because it is easier to find for most people.
• Egg yolks – Egg yolks add richness and creaminess to the ice cream.
• Granulated sugar – White sugar adds sweetness to this recipe. I have experimented with half sugar and half honey which also works. I would recommend this approach if you want to reduce the amount of refined sugar in your ice cream.
• Dark chocolate – I would use any kind of chocolate you like. My household doesn’t like desserts that are too sweet, so I used chocolate with no sugar.
• Coconut oil – The coconut oil helps give the dark chocolate a looser consistency.

Making my matcha stracciatella

Making the ice cream base

Add eggs yolks and granulated sugar to a bowl. Whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar together until a smooth texture. Set aside. Add the whole milk and heavy cream to a sauce pan. Sift the matcha powder into the milk and cream. Turn on the heat to medium. Whisk the matcha into the cream mixture until you don’t see any big clumps. Add the whole milk and heavy cream to a sauce pan. Sift the matcha powder into the milk and cream. Turn on the heat to medium. Whisk the matcha into the cream mixture until you don’t see any big clumps.

Turn off the heat. Add 1/4 cup of the hot cream to the eggs and whisk until it turns a smooth and uniform green color. The goal of this step is to raise the temperature of the eggs, so they don’t completely cook in the hot cream. Pour the eggs into the pan with hot cream. Turn the heat back on and heat the cream until it reaches 170 degrees F. A good way to test if it’s done is to coat the back of a spoon with the cream and pull your finger through the cream. A done cream should have a thick, smooth trail that doesn’t break. Take the cream off the heat.

Churn the ice cream

Pour the cream through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. This will get rid of any egg or milk solids in the cream. Cool the cream down to room temperature and then put it in the fridge to cool completely. The cream should be in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. Pour the cream into an ice cream maker and churn for 15-20 minutes. While the ice cream is churning, combine the chocolate and coconut oil in a liquid measuring cup. Heat in 20 second increments until the chocolate is melted. Stir after every time increment to make sure the coconut oil and chocolate are mixing well. When there’s 5 minutes left in the churning time, drizzle the chocolate into the ice cream maker. The chocolate will solidify once it hits the cold ice cream. The resulting ice cream should be slightly harder than soft serve. Spoon the ice cream a freezer safe container and freeze overnight.

Tips on how to make the perfect matcha stracciatella

Sift your matcha into the cream

This is a crucial step because matcha tends to clump easily. This is especially important for milk based desserts like matcha flan and matcha ice cream.

Temper your eggs

Just like in creme brûlées, it is important to temper your eggs for the cream. Add 1/4 cup of hot cream to your egg and sugar mixture. Whisk until everything is well combined and no white streaks remain. Now, it is safe to add your egg mixture to the hot cream.

Make sure your cream is cold before churning

You will get better results if your cream is cold. Put your finished cream into the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to cool it down before adding it to the ice cream machine.

Be careful not to over churn

The maximum amount of time you should churn your ice cream is 20 minutes. The more you churn your ice cream, the harder it becomes. A done ice cream will have the consistency of something slightly harder than soft serve.

Stream your chocolate into the ice cream using a liquid measuring cup

This allows you to drizzle the chocolate into the ice cream a little bit at a time, ensuring that there aren’t large clumps of chocolate in your ice cream.

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