Tartufo – Italian gelato dessert with video

This is a sponsored post for HemisFares™ brand that is available exclusively at Kroger family of stores.  All opinions are honest and 100% my own

I love pretty much everything Italian – pastas, cheese, breads, pastries – I mean what’s not to love!!!!  So when I got the chance to crate a recipe using HemisFares Gelato I knew I wanted to stick with an italian dessert! The Tartufo… a Gelato “truffle”

The story goes that the relative of the king showed up at a wedding unexpectedly and the host realized he didn’t have enough cups to serve the Gelato to everyone – SO a quick thinking pastry maker invented this – an ice cream that could be served on a plate! (like an early Food Network challenge, right?)

Traditionally it was made with two flavors of gelato, with a fruit center (usually cherry) and hand shaped – covered in melted chocolate then wrapped in paper to hold it together and refrozen then served on a plate! An Italian ice cream truffle… They’ve been popular ever since. Sometimes they are covered in crushed cookie instead (I used both – why not)

And like any decadent dessert (or any food for that matter) the better the quality of the ingredients the better the final outcome! Don’t skimp out on the main ingredient – a good Ice cream – now for a more authentic Tartufo you’ll want to use Gelato.  I’m super excited about the new HemisFares line at my local Smiths grocery store – high end, quality, international foods – JUST how I like to eat!

I modernized it by using a mold to create the ball shape – much easier than hands, and cleaner too!! The trick is stay close to the freezer. The better quality your gelato is it will actually melt faster – so I just kept tossing the molds back into the freezer for 15 mins at a time.

Esp with the chocolate pouring phase – work one at a time otherwise the last few balls will start to melt and won’t hold the melted chocolate (it won’t react and harden right away) and be more of a melty mess.

The finished Tartufo’s were perfection! The hard shell and the soft, creamy, rich gelato? AMAZING – seriously my kids are already planning the flavor combinations for the next time we make them.  Just two would have fit the molds perfectly, but I wanted that extra flavor combinations so I got more – WHICH means I also have leftovers to enjoy – WINNING!!!

You could put any fruit into the center – Cherry, raspberry, or even nuts – The marachino cherry is the most widely used but the kids and I are going to have fun experimenting! I’ve even seen a few versions where they use a syrup inside – like a berry sauce – or chocolate sauce even… For that I’d freeze the filling then scoop a small little ball out and place it in the center – it will take some experimenting but it will be worth it.

SO what flavor combo would you pick for your Tartufo? They have Chocolate, Straciatella, Cappuccino, Strawberry, Hazelnut and Pistachio Gelatos. For more information on HemisFares you can check out the website HemisFaresFinds.com or facebook.com/Hemisfares. The Pistachio was my kids absolute favorite! I loved all three flavors that we tried – the texture was amazing, soft, rich and oh so delicious.

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Tartufo - Italian gelato dessert with video

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Ashlee Marie

Ingredients

• 2-3 HemisFares Gelato's I used chocolate, FIND NO. 51, pistachio FIND NO. 56 and Hazelnut FIND NO. 55
• Marachino cherries
• chocolate crackers or cookies crushed
• high quality Dark Chocolate wafers melted and then cooled slightly
• silicone mold
• medium cookie scoop

Instructions

1. let the gelato soften a bit then scoop a large scoop into each of the molds - this will be the outer layer
2. use the back of the medium cookie scoop to press a hollow into the gelato and filling out the outside of the mold (make sure to mirror the flavors in each mold so you can press them together later)
3. freeze for 15 mins to reharden the gelato a bit
4. use the medium scoop to fill the center of each mold with a second flavor of Gelato, then top just HALF of the molds with a maraschino cherry
5. Freeze for another 15 mins if the gelato has gotten soft
6. press the two halves together, press hard
7. freeze for 5-6 hours
8. roll in crushed crackers then place on a cooling rack and pour the melted chocolate over the gelato ball - if it's not thin enough add some coconut oil to thin it a bit - the chocolate will harden as it hits the cold ball - put right back into the freeze to reharden the gelato underneath the chocolate
9. Another 15 mins will be fine
10. ENJOY!