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This light and refreshing Lemon Ice Cream is perfect enjoyed by itself or use it to top your favorite fruit crisp or cobbler for an amazing flavor twist.
Why You’ll Love This Lemon Ice Cream
I am a huge ice cream fan and it is usually my dessert of choice.
As you know one of my other loves is lemon so coming up with the perfect lemon ice cream was a pretty big priority for me. I think I may have found it.
The perfect ice cream needs to have just the right amount of lemon. It can’t be too tart or too sweet. It needs to be just right, and this one is just that.
Ingredients Needed
- Lemons. You will use the juice and the zest.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Whole Milk
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
Tips from Leigh Anne
- The base for this ice cream is a cooked custard because there are eggs in the recipe. You will need to plan ahead with this ice cream as the ice cream base needs to be cooked and then cooled before churning into ice cream.
- I always use real, fresh squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor.
- I usually allow my ice cream to harden up in the freezer a while before serving. You can serve it right after processing though if you can’t wait, it will just be more soft serve like.
How to Make Lemon Ice Cream
- Combine the eggs, sugar, salt, lemon juice and zest and one cup of milk.
- Cook over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. After cooking the mixture you may want to pour it through a strainer to remove the lemon rind and any pieces of egg that might not have gotten mixed in. There are times when I don’t do this though and my ice cream always turns out great.
- After straining put it in the refrigerator to chill.
- After it has chilled, just process according to the directions of your ice cream maker.
- Place ice cream into freezer after it has processed to allow it to set up and harden a bit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will homemade ice cream last in the freezer?
Stored in an airtight, insulated ice cream container it will last for a couple of weeks.
Do I have to use an ice cream maker?
This homemade ice cream recipe is designed to be made in an ice cream maker and is not meant to be a no churn ice cream.
What kind of ice cream maker do you use?
I use a Cuisinart 2 qt. ice cream maker. I then transfer the ice cream into this insulated ice cream container to let the ice cream harden up.
For other yummy ice cream recipes try these:
Lemon Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a pan mix together zest, juice, sugar, salt and eggs.
- Add in 1 cup whole milk and vanilla.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a simmer.
- Strain through a sieve to remove zest if desired..
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
- Add in whipping cream and freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.
Tips & Notes:
- Recipe makes 1 quart of lemon ice cream.
- The base for this ice cream is a cooked custard because there are eggs in the recipe. You will need to plan ahead with this ice cream as the ice cream base needs to be cooked and then cooled before churning into ice cream.
- I usually allow my ice cream to harden up in the freezer a while before serving. You can serve it right after processing though if you can’t wait, it will just be more soft serve like.
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Nutrition Facts:
Oscar says
Are there any issues with the milk curdling because of the lemmon?
Leigh Anne Wilkes says
No, you are heating the milk so curdling is not an issue
Brandi says
It’s so hard to find lemon ice cream! So happy to have stumbled across this! It’s delicious!
Darla Guenzler says
This was delicious! Have been trying to find a lemon ice cream like the one I used to eat weekly at Velvet Freeze, a local ice cream chain in St. louis that operated since early in the 20th century. I love lemon zest but I will take the advice and strain it out for next time.
Tracy says
At what point do you add the salt? There is no mention of it in the instructions.
Leigh Anne Wilkes says
It really doesn’t matter when you add it in, but I have updated the recipe to include adding it in with the sugar.
BRANDON HARRIS says
Absolutely delicious! I’ve been searching for a really good homemade Lemon Ice Cream recipe. Found it! THANKS!
Leigh Anne Wilkes says
glad you loved it – one of my favorites too.