Not that we ever get tired of ice cream, but with the coming of summer it becomes a must! "Let’s get some gelato" or "Let's make homemade ice cream" are common thoughts during the summer months.

And we will answer exactly these desires of ours. 

If you want to go straight to the recipe for homemade sorbet, click HERE.

Who is Gerry and what a place is Gelato Fabbrica

We enter Gelato Fabbrica, which has found its place in the ideal center of Sofia. The pleasant slightly retro interior. But we pay attention to all this only until we see the window with the gelato. After that, we think only about it. 

We sit down to have coffee with Gerry, the founder of Gelato Fabbrica. We keep thinking about ice cream, but we are calmed down by the thought that in a little while we'll make some and we'll try it with pleasure. 

How did you learn to make gelato?

Before answering us, Gerry smiles and tells us a few words about gelato in general, which leaves the impression of a person who has remembered something very dear, which one wants to keep to one’s self. However, she decides to share with us.

In this memory, Gerry is a little younger and has a professional career in a completely different field - pharmacy. Making ice cream is her hobby. She experiments with recipes and then enjoys them with her family. After a while, she even bought a small ice cream machine, which later brought to Gelato Fabbrica and tested new recipes on it in small quantities.

At one point she is sure she wants to make a professional turn. And she leaves for Italy. 4 times, 4 different gelato trainings as during the last even practiced on the spot. When he returns to Bulgaria, he works in another gelateria until he decides it's time. It's time for Gelato Fabbrica to be created.

And so with a lot of effort, a lot of confidence, and fear at the same time, as Gerry admits - "Just before we opened Gelato Fabbrica I began to doubt if I was doing everything right, if our gelato was good" - today Gelato Fabbrica thrives on Todor Blvd. Alexandrov ”17 in the center of Sofia and is filled with people who then come back again and again.

That's how we at Gift Come True discovered Gerry and her gelateria - after we had tried the gelato and made sure that we wanted to show this experience of good taste to our customers.

Homemade ice cream ... pardon, gelato with love

Although not made at home, Gerry’s gelato is homemade and artisanal. Everything is made on site in the gelateria - only the products are ordered and delivered. Most of them are from Bulgarian producers, some more exotic or non-standard ingredients she orders directly from abroad. But all the other magic is in Gelato Fabbrica. No artificial ingredients, questionable powders for ready-made ice cream, or ready-made bases are used. Her gelato melts faster because it's real.

"Making a good gelato is not just about taste, " says Gerry. "Consistency is important, it's important how the gelato behaves, it's not too liquid or too tight, it's important that there are no water or fat crystals. For each type of ice cream there is an ideal proportion of fats, carbohydrates / sugars, proteins, there are no approximate ingredients." "In the beginning I tested for many hours but now I need only a few tries to make the perfect recipe" 

Do you write the recipes on your own?

• Yes, I sit and write until I get the perfect recipe. Before we opened this place, I gave away large quantities of gelato to everyone: friends, neighbors, acquaintances. Everyone knew that there was free gelato here. For me, feedback is very important - what do you like what don’t you like. I already know that even if one doesn’t like something, I have the skills and the ability to fix it quickly. 

Gerry also shares how she dreams of making other products with gelato. She plans on a new gelato sandwich between two homemade cookies with a "heart" of berries. Work on this will begin soon.

And do you have a favorite ice cream?

• I would say that there are three main groups of preferences: for chocolate, for dairy and vanilla, and for fruit and sorbet. I definitely have a favorite one - vanilla.

And then she shares with a smile how she makes her vanilla gelato, which she loves so much. Ah, we want someone to talk about us like Gerry talks about his favorite ice cream.

It's time to go to the kitchen and make our own homemade ice cream ...

Recipe for homemade ice cream - berry sorbet

And here is Gerry's berry sorbet recipe for you to try at home.

Quantity: 1 kg.

Ingredients:

Raspberries	175 g
Strawberries	175 g
Blueberries	175 g
Water	252 g
Sugar	160 g
Glucose	50 g
Carob flour	3 g
Lemon juice	10 g

1. If you have an ice cream machine, clean it well. If your machine has a separate bowl that requires pre-freezing, place it in the freezer at least 24 hours in advance. 

2. Prepare sugar syrup as follows: heat the water slightly. If you have a thermometer, the exact temperature is 40C. While the water is on the stove, add the sugar, pre-mixed dry with locust bean flour. Stir the syrup periodically. After 2-3 minutes, when the temperature is approximately 60C, add the glucose and continue to stir periodically until the temperature reaches at least 85C. You do not have to have a thermometer. Just don't let the mixture boil. Remove from the heat before boiling. Transfer to another bowl to allow the syrup to cool faster. You can prepare it the day before and leave it in the fridge. This way it will have matured for the necessary time, the locust bean flour will have been activated and you will have a better result.

3. Clean and wash the fruit. 

Grind them using a blender or blender as finely as possible. Add the chilled sugar syrup and lemon juice to them. Blend / blend very well again. You should get the smoothest, most homogeneous mixture possible.

4. If you do not have an ice cream machine, skip the next steps and leave the mixture directly in the freezer to stand long enough to set. 

 

7. Remove the sorbet and store immediately in the freezer or refrigerator compartment for at least 15 minutes. 

Get your gelato tasting now.