The Fourth of July is my husband’s favorite holiday! He loves summertime, BBQ, and fireworks, which is pretty much the perfect combination for a great celebration! It’s our first year celebrating Independence Day here in Oklahoma, so I want to make sure it’s a special one! I’m always looking to come up with new, fun treats to make for our Fourth of July festivities and this year I’ve decided to combine two of my current obsessions (gelato and strawberry shortcake). My Red, White, and Blue Berry Shortcake Gelato is a creamy vanilla gelato studded with pieces of homemade biscuit, dried blueberries, white chocolate chips, and a fresh strawberry swirl. This refreshing, festive treat is the perfect way to put smiles on everyone’s faces while you watch those gorgeous fireworks light up the night sky and celebrate Independence Day!
The first step I like to start with is making the vanilla gelato base. This should be made the day or night before you would like to serve it, because we need to chill the liquid overnight to make sure it is cold enough to form into gelato in our ice cream maker and to allow the vanilla flavor to really intensify while it chills. For our vanilla gelato base, whisk together your egg yolks and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan. Whisk the two for about 30 seconds until the mixture has become pale yellow in color and a thick consistency.
Next, whisk in your milk, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt until thoroughly combined. Place your pan over low heat and continually whisk your gelato mixture until it reaches 160*F on a kitchen thermometer. It usually takes about 12 to 14 minutes on my stovetop, but keep an eye on your thermometer. It could take more or less time, depending on your stove.
Once your mixture has reached 160*F, take your pan off the heat and strain your gelato base through a fine mesh strainer and into a large bowl to remove any lumps. I have a sifter that I love using that is fine mesh, so I use it to strain if I can’t find my other strainer (or if the other one is in the dish washer :P).
After straining this silky, sweet mixture, place a piece of plastic wrap right on top of the liquid. This will prevent a skin from forming on top of the gelato base while it cools. Place it in the refrigerator to chill overnight. Once you are ready to make your gelato, use a whisk to mix the liquid briefly before you place it in your ice cream maker. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to use your specific ice cream maker. Once your gelato is ready, it will have a consistency similar to soft serve.
Place your gelato in a freezable container, cover it, and place it in the freezer to stiffen up. Now on to those delectable biscuits!
You can make the biscuits a day or two ahead of time and store them in a sealed container until you are ready to put them in the gelato. To make the biscuits, preheat your oven to 400*F. In a large bowl, sift together your all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, and salt. It seems like an extra step, but trust me sifting your dry ingredients will make these lovely biscuits so light and fluffy. It’s well worth the extra few minutes it takes!
Once the dry ingredients have all been sifted together, add in the heavy cream just until it’s combined. Place your biscuit dough into an ungreased 8-inch square pan.
Bake them until they’re nice and golden brown, approximately 20 minutes (just keep your eye on them). Once they’re done, allow them to cool completely.
Cut half of the biscuits into very small cubes and set them aside for now. This recipe makes more biscuit than is needed for the ice cream. I love using the extra biscuits to make gelato ice cream sandwiches or even egg sandwiches the next morning, they are too good not to eat! Don’t worry! Only a few more steps and this delightful dessert will be ready to enjoy! 🙂
The final step before we can finish up our gelato is to make our strawberry swirl! We’ll start by rinsing and cutting our gorgeous scarlet berries.
Cut them into 4 pieces (or if they’re really large, you can cut them into 6 pieces). Place your strawberries in a medium saucepan, along with the granulated sugar and lemon juice. Set your pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Make sure to stir your bubbling berries regularly to help all that sugar dissolve.
Simmer the mixture until your strawberries are soft and almost liquified, approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
Using a potato masher or wooden spoon, mash your berry mixture until all of the large pieces of strawberries are gone. Transfer the glistening strawberry mixture to a container and place it in the refrigerator to chill until it is completely cold.
Does anyone know what time it is?! What time is it? It’s time for lunch! What time is it? It’s time for lunch! Any other toddler parents out there can’t get this out of their head after too many episodes of Bubble Guppies? Sorry it’s all I think of when someone asks what time it is lately, parent life! 😛 Alright, back to the adult world… For real though, it’s time for gelato! Hooray! To finish up our Fourth of July dessert, take the vanilla gelato out of the freezer to soften just enough for us to mix in our red, white, and blue embellishments. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the pieces of biscuits, dried blueberries, and white chocolate chips.
Once those are nicely sprinkled throughout the gelato, fold in the strawberry swirl just enough for your gelato to have a beautiful red ribbon of berries through it.
Place the finished gelato back in the freezer for a few minutes to stiffen up once again and it’s ready to be scooped on a cone or into a bowl! The red strawberry swirl, creamy white chocolate chunks, and blue pops of blueberries along with luscious bites of that golden fresh made biscuit will taste like a scoop of the best berry shortcake you’ve ever had! My Red, White, and Blue Berry Shortcake Gelato is the perfect sweet treat to enjoy with loved ones while watching the sky light up with Independence Day celebrations from near and far! I hope you all have a safe and joyful Fourth of July! 🙂
*Red, White, and Blue Berry Shortcake Gelato*
Yields: 8 to 10 Servings
Prep Time: 45 Minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 24 Hours
Bake Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 to 24 Minutes
Ingredients
Vanilla Gelato Base:
4 Egg Yolks
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Heavy Cream
2 Cups 1% or Whole Milk (I’ve made it with both, just depends what milk I have on hand that day, but both work great!)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Biscuits:
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream
Strawberry Swirl:
1/2 lb Fresh Strawberries
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 3/4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup Dried Blueberries
1/2 Cup White Chocolate Chips
To Make the Red, White, and Blue Berry Shortcake Gelato
The first step is to make the vanilla gelato base the day before. Whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan. Whisk the two for about 30 seconds until the mixture has become pale yellow in color and a thick consistency. Next, whisk in your milk, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt until thoroughly combined. Place your pan over low heat and continually whisk your gelato mixture until it reaches 160*F on a kitchen thermometer. It usually takes about 12 to 14 minutes on my stovetop, but keep an eye on your thermometer. Once your mixture has reached 160*F, take your pan off the heat and strain your gelato base through a fine mesh strainer and into a large bowl. After straining, place a piece of plastic wrap right on top of the liquid. This will prevent a skin from forming on top of the gelato base while it cools. Place it in the refrigerator to chill overnight. Once you are ready to make your gelato, use a whisk to mix the liquid briefly before you place it in your ice cream maker. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to use your specific ice cream maker. Once your gelato is ready, it will have a consistency similar to soft serve. Place your gelato in a freezable container, cover it, and place it in the freezer to stiffen up. To make the biscuits, preheat your oven to 400*F. In a large bowl, sift together your all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, and salt. Once the dry ingredients have all been sifted together, add in the heavy cream just until it’s combined. Place your biscuit dough into an ungreased 8-inch square pan. Bake them until they’re golden brown, approximately 20 minutes (just keep your eye on them). Once they’re done, allow them to cool completely. Cut half of the biscuits into very small cubes and set them aside for now. To make the strawberry swirl, start by rinsing and cutting the berries. Cut them into 4 pieces (or if they’re really large, you can cut them into 6 pieces). Place your strawberries in a medium saucepan, along with the granulated sugar and lemon juice. Set your pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Make sure to stir your bubbling berries regularly to help all that sugar dissolve. Simmer the mixture until your strawberries are soft and almost liquified, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Using a potato masher or wooden spoon, mash your berry mixture until all of the large pieces of strawberries are gone. Transfer the strawberry mixture to a container and place it in the refrigerator to chill until it is completely cold. To finish up our Fourth of July dessert, take the vanilla gelato out of the freezer to soften just enough for us to mix in our red, white, and blue embellishments. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the pieces of biscuits, dried blueberries, and white chocolate chips. Once those are nicely sprinkled throughout the gelato, fold in the strawberry swirl just enough for your gelato to have a beautiful red ribbon of berries through it. Place the finished gelato back in the freezer to stiffen up once again and it’s ready to be scooped on a cone or into a bowl! 🙂
True Joy & Glow 