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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.
Bethany says
Delicious! Lots of lemon flavor, reminiscent of a lemon meringue pie. I used an extra half cup of milk (because we don’t like it to be too much like whipped cream) and it came out great.
Aom says
i made it today and it is delicious. TYour instruction is simple and very easy to follow. Thank you for sharing.
Mae says
I was skeptical because of the whole eggs but i went with it since its quarantine time and the other recipes i looked at called for 6 egg yolks and thats a lot when i cant leave. I’m glad i did. This is a beautiful recipe, an absolute keeper. Light, sweet, creamy, tart (but not too), just perfect. I’m gonna make this again in summer but maybe add some crushed shortbread cookies or lemon oreos or something. It’s totally great the way it is though. Thank you!
Leigh Anne says
So glad you loved it too!! I made it again this week too!
Bette says
How much ice cream does this recipe make? I have ice cream parties so I must make at least 4 to 5 quarts at a time. I use an electric White Mountain Ice Cream makes.
Leigh Anne says
My ice cream maker is a 2 qt. so you would need to double it for a 4-5 qt machine.
suzanne says
the is the only ice cream recipe i have seen that does not require that yolks be separated from whites and whites be discarded. in my experience, the reason to strain the custard is to eliminate the embryo part of the egg as well as any curd from cooking the mixture. i would think that including the egg whites would create more curd. (personally, i like the lemon zest and i always add that after i strain the custard.) but can you please enlighten me on why you use the entire egg? thank you. sst
Leigh Anne says
Suzanne, I don’t have any amazing answer for you other than that is how I have always done it and that is the way my mother always did it. If you beat your eggs well before including them you don’t have any problem. Using just the egg yolk will make your ice cream more custard like if that is what you prefer but I prefer my ice cream to be a bit more “icy” which using the whole egg allows. The recipe will also work if you remove the egg white.