Say gel-ahhhhh-to

It’s officially the dog days, and you have a summer soiree to attend tomorrow. “What can I bring?” you asked. “Oh, just a little something for dessert,” they replied. But the very thought of baking something in this heat makes you deflate with fatigue. You still want to bring something homecrafted – some kind of ice cream would be great, but you don’t have an ice cream maker. What to do?

You spend a grand total of 5 minutes prepping this mock-gelato, that’s what. And then you’ll make it again and again and again. Really. Because it really is only 4 ingredients,  it really does only take 5 to mix it up, you really don’t need an ice cream maker, and, best of all, it really does work.

I know it may sound a little weird, but trust us. We swear it will surprise you. Something about the way that the acid in the citrus combines with the fat in the cream (and yes, you must use cream; we tried it with half & half and it just didn’t work texture-wise, though the flavor was still a total delight) creates a perfect dense, creamy texture that is so akin to ‘real’ gelato, though the technique is very different.

The original called for lemon, which is equally delicious, but there’s something about the subtle tang of the grapefruit here that Donna and I both were tickled by – so creamy & subtly tangy. It’s also incredibly rich. And it truly is amazing how well the texture comes out without churning! The whole thing is a revelation.

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