Creamy Lemon Ice Cream

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!

This post was published in 2014 and we’re updating it today with additional information.

It’s been really warm 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 three flavors of ice cream; Turkish plain ice cream, chocolate 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. That’s why I wanted to try each one with my new device. All three recipes turned out so good and I will be making them even in winter. If you love to make ice cream from scratch, you need to check those recipes too!

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.

Tip About This Lemon Ice Cream

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.

Creamy Lemon Ice Cream

Creamy and tangy lemon ice cream with loads of lemon zest and juice.

• Author: zerrin
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 6
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup lemon juice

Instructions

1. Mix cream, milk, sugar, zest and salt in a pot until sugar is dissolved and bring it to boil.
2. Beat the yolks in a bowl until smooth.
3. Pour the hot cream mixture into beaten yolks gradually and stirring constantly.
4. 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.
5. If you want, you can immediately sieve it at this step. I didn’t.
6. Stir in lemon juice and cool it until it reaches at room temperature stirring occasionally.
7. Chill in the fridge about 3 hours.
8. Transfer it into the bowl of an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.
9. Keep it in an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
10. Take it out 5-10 minutes before serving so that it gets easy to scoop.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 portion
• Calories: 377
• Sugar: 29.6g
• Sodium: 95.7mg
• Fat: 27g
• Carbohydrates: 31.5g
• Protein: 4.8g
• Cholesterol: 231.7mg