The Recipes from Caterina and Francesco’s Letter
Translated by Ramon Garcia Castro
Chocolate Ice Cream

Grate half a kilo of chocolate and melt it in two liters of milk. Separately, beat 12 egg yolks together with 200 grams of powered sugar. Little by little add the milk and chocolate mixture to the eggs. Put this in a pan over a slow fire, all the while stirring. The moment it starts thickening take it off the fire before it boils and put this cream through a sieve (in the cloth they use to sift flour) and when it’s cold pour it in the ice cream maker.
Cinnamon Ice Cream

A liter of milk, 20 grams of sugar, 6 egg yolks, lemon rind, and small pieces of cinnamon. Beat the sugar and eggs very, very well and mix it with the sugar. Then little by little pour the milk. Put this into a pan as in the recipe above. Cook it over a very low fire stirring constantly. When the cream is done put it through the sieve. Once it’s cold pour it into the ice cream maker. To economize on eggs use a substance called ovalina, but you’ll get a less refined result. About the ice cream maker, the metal container must be put in a bucket of ice. Salt the ice. Then constantly turn the ice cream maker. The liquid congeals little by little.