The use of molds in gelato making

17/11/2025

Stefano Tarquinio, senior lecturer at Carpigiani Gelato University, shares his experience using silicone molds for gelato products. "Usually, when we talk about gelato, we imagine a product served in a cone or cup, but we mustn't forget that today, products in different shapes are increasingly popular: sticks, single portions, and cakes created using molds."

As we've seen in other articles, the evolution of technologies and materials has changed the tools and working methods of gelato makers. Today, molds of every shape are available, and it's not uncommon to find gelato makers, chefs, and pastry chefs using customized molds to create products with a distinctive visual impact.

"Using molds also changes the production methodology: gelato makers can easily create layered products using molds of different sizes. This allows them to experiment with layers made from different ingredients, colors, and consistencies."

Thanks to the use of molds, "products much more suitable for takeaway can be created—such as bars, sticks, and other formats—which can be placed in convenient, pre-measured and weighed transport containers. It's also important to remember that molds can be used to create decorations to place on trays, inside trays, or on top of products like cakes and individual portions."

Silicone molds are increasingly used for their convenience: they're easy to clean—they can be put in the dishwasher—and easy to store. Furthermore, once blast chilled, the products are easy to unmold. Food-grade silicone molds allow you to quickly produce large quantities of desserts in a uniform manner, without weight errors.
"It's true that unmolding a silicone mold is a simple operation, but it's important to be careful when filling: leaving empty or overfilled areas can create imperfections in the finished product, either on the surface or in the internal layers."

"Some gelato makers choose to fill the molds with a piping bag, although, in my opinion, you need to be careful not to overheat or crush the gelato by hand, working gently and quickly. The consistency of the mixture used to fill the molds is an important factor to consider".

Carpigiani has created a special program for its batch freezers, "Crystal," designed to make filling molds and single-serving desserts easier and more precise. By inserting the appropriately balanced mixture into the batch freezer, you can select the "Crystal" program for sorbets or gelato and extract a product with a semi-solid consistency perfect for filling molds without imperfections. The mold is then placed in a blast chiller to solidify into the desired shape. It is then unmolded and stored at -18°C.

The product obtained with Crystal is also useful for creating layering, like those you've seen in some of our recipe books. If you want an example of what I'm saying, you should take a look at the Gelato cake recipe book created by our master chef Gabriele Vannucci. Gabriele wanted to reproduce some of the most famous pastry cakes in gelato versions, and to maintain the same care and precision in his creations, he chose to use this program to make the gelato that fills the cakes, making them suitable for serving straight from the freezer.