Sacramento Woman's Gelato Recipe Will Compete Against Nation's Best

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A Sacramento woman believes she has the best gelato in the world, and next week she hopes to win the equivalent of the gelato lotto.

It's a traditional dessert found on almost every corner in Italy that's now finding sweet success in Sacramento.

Elizabeth McCleary, the owner of Devine Gelata-Ria and Cafe is hoping to win the world gelato competition in Italy with her special secret recipe of bananas foster.

"My mom's side of the family is from Italy, I still have relatives there and I love ice cream and I love baking thats how this place came about," she said.

It's a recipe that was inspired by a customer.

"I actually had a customer one day say to me, 'Do you ever make a bananas foster flavor?' and I was like I haven't, but I can," she said.

It's a dessert that's usually served flambe she's made in frozen form. And the layers of flavors will make you go bananas.

"You're gonna get the banana, but you're also gonna get the rum, and you'll get a little cinnamon at the end and then you get the crunch of the pecan," she said.

McCleary might live thousands of miles from Italy, but she's considered a gelato master, and even has a degree from a gelato university.

"I'm a licensed pasteurizer so I have a clean room and I'm the only one in Northern California who has that," she said.

She makes every flavor from scratch.

"I blend my own milks and creams and sugar to create that, and then from there I create all my flavors, so that's what makes my gelato so special," she said.

She'll be leaving to compete in Austin, Texas on Tuesday.