What is tartufo you might ask? Well it actually has two meanings, it could be an edible fungus or an Italian dessert, in this case it’s dessert.

It’s an Italian frozen dessert usually composed of two or more flavors of ice cream and often with a strawberry, cherry or raspberry in the center and it’s usually covered in a shell made of chocolate, it’s divine! I’ve only had it once at a restaurant here in Chicago but it’s pretty popular in Italy, in fact if you Google it you’ll see many of the recipes in Italian. It’s also referred to as a chocolate bomb, and that it is!

 I recently saw this recipe in the current February issue of Martha and couldn’t wait to make it, it’s the perfect dessert for Valentine’s Day because it’s meant to be shared. Put it on a pretty platter, grab a couple of spoons and dig in with your honey!

Here’s the ingredients I used, pistachio and dark chocolate gelato, chocolate wafer cookies, dark chocolate for melting, frozen cherries, (you only need two, Martha used maraschino, but I’m not fond of them) and chopped pistachios for garnish.

 Basically you line a domed glass bowl with plastic wrap, that’s going to be your mold. Place your gelato or ice cream side by side, plop a cherry in the middle of each side, then wrap it up and stick it in the freezer for a couple of hours or more. Feel free to use any flavor ice cream combination you like, I’ve also seen cookies and nuts stuffed in the center.

In the meantime take your chocolate wafers and finely pulse them in a food processor, when the two hours are up unwrap the gelato mixture and place the crumbs on top of the mixture, this is going to land on the bottom when inverted and will give you a nice crunchy texture, then re-wrap and place the bowl back into the freezer for another couple of hours until nice and firm, I repeat, nice and firm! Very important!

 When it’s completely firmed up, get your chocolate melted then take out your dome of gelato, fold back the plastic and invert on a wire rack, being careful to remove the rest of the remaining plastic. Pour the melted chocolate all over the dome then stick it back into the freezer so it can harden up. You can do this in advance and just wrap the whole dome in plastic until ready to serve, or serve it right after the outer shell gets nice and firm.

So if you’re staying in and avoiding the crowds this Valentine’s Day and making a special meal at home, here’s the perfect dessert to share with your loved one.

Here’s the link to Martha’s recipe. http://www.marthastewart.com/1140997/chocolate-pistachio-tartufo

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