Creamy lemon ice cream is loaded with lemon zest and lemon juice. It is like the ice cream version of lemonade. Nothing is more refreshing than this! Lemon lovers will get addicted!
It’s been really hot for a few days, so it’s time for refreshing treats like this Creamy Lemon Ice Cream! The weather doesn't matter for me, I can have ice cream at any time of the year. It has become one of my biggest hobbies to make ice cream so far and I love to experiment with my ice cream maker using different ingredients each time.
Lemon ice cream is one of the most common ice cream flavors in my hometown, Tarsus. I remember there was an ice cream vendor in our neighborhood selling just two flavors of ice cream; Turkish plain ice cream and lemon ice cream. I just couldn’t decide which one was my favorite, so I used to buy one dollop from each one every day in summer.
The type of lemon you use really matters if you are making ice cream. My parents sent us a big package full of fresh lemons from their yard, which have a very tempting scent. The store bought ones don’t smell at all and they are not sour enough. So try to find good lemons with a musky odour if you are planning to make lemon ice cream.
Unlike store bought ice cream, I didn't use any food coloring in this recipe. That nice yellow color is coming from the lemon zest in the mixture.
Tips
How to zest a lemon is something we should know. Make sure you don't grate the white parts of lemons when grating their skin, otherwise your ice cream will get bitter.
I was generous about the amount of the zest and lemon juice in this recipe because I wanted to make that tangy flavor more noticeable. The result was amazing!
Unlike most of the fruit ice cream recipes, the mixture is not strained before freezing as I wanted to feel the pieces of lemon zest in my lemon ice cream. You can use less if you don’t like it that much or just strain it right before you put the mixture in the ice cream maker.
This lemon ice cream is not like the one in my childhood and I’ll be looking for its recipe for sure, but this one is as luscious. I LOVE its creaminess and tangy flavor.
Other Ice Cream Recipes
- Oreo Ice Cream
- Almond Milk Ice Cream
- Lime Ice Cream
- Frozen Yogurt
Other Lemon Desserts
As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Lemon Ice Cream
INGREDIENTS
- 1 and ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- 5 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 egg yolks
- ¾ cup lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Mix cream, milk, sugar, zest and salt in a pot until sugar is dissolved and bring it to boil.
- Beat the yolks in a bowl until smooth.
- Pour the hot cream mixture into beaten yolks gradually and stirring constantly.
- Pour this mixture back into the pot and cook over medium low heat until it coats the back of the spoon for 3-5 minutes. Make sure you stir it constantly and don’t let it boil.
- If you want, you can immediately sieve it at this step. I didn’t.
- Stir in lemon juice and cool it until it reaches at room temperature stirring occasionally.
- Chill in the fridge about 3 hours.
- Transfer it into the bowl of an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Keep it in an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
- Take it out 5-10 minutes before serving so that it gets easy to scoop.
NUTRITION
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Pakizeh Holvander says
So happy to have found this recipe! I blog in two languages myself (from Sweden) http://abcipersiskmat.blogspot.se
and yesterday I wanted to surprise my son with lemon ice cream that he loves! It really turned out very nice. I actually added some other things to it. (1,5 teaspoon of rose water). I will for sure write about this on my blog.
Thanks a lot.
Warm regards
P Holvander
Zerrin says
Glad you loved it Pakizeh! I'm sure your additions take the recipe to the next level. Will check out your blog for sure. BTW your name sounds so much like a Turkish name. Cheers!
Supriya says
Oh my God. Just tried this recipe and the ice cream tasted superb. Never thought I would love this one so much. Simply amazing... i would make it again soon!!! Thanks for sharing this classy recipe. 🙂
Zerrin says
So glad to hear this. Perfect for summer, isn't it?
Ele says
I made this last night. I think it took longer than 30 minutes, but maybe that's because I did a lot of washing throughout the process, because I needed the mixing bowl three different times.
That said, the ice cream is *delicious*. I wish I'd made a double batch, because it's going to be gone very quickly.
Zerrin says
Hi Ele,
Happy to hear that you love it and thank you for sharing your thoughts here! We can never have enough ice cream, right?
Aysegul - Ice says
I am glad that this new ice cream maker is working for you. This creamy lemon ice cream looks divine!
I will definitely give it a try.
Cheers!
Aysegul