Summer brings warm weather, pool days, and, of course, ice cream. For a perfect homemade treat, nothing can beat the power of a bowl of lemon ice cream with fresh citrus flavor.
Creamy and light, it’s an excellent stand-alone dessert or a vibrant topping for pies and crisps. With just the right blend of sweetness and lemony tang, this dessert is perfect to become a family favorite, especially for lemon enthusiasts.
Thinking about how to surprise your family members by making an amazing bowl of lemon ice cream? We come here to rescue you with an easy yet unique recipe.
What is Lemon Ice Cream
Lemon ice cream is a frozen dessert made from a mixture of cream, sugar, and fresh lemon juice or lemon zest. It combines the rich texture of traditional ice cream with the tart, refreshing flavor of lemon. The citrus element provides a bright, tangy contrast to the creamy base. It’s a great choice for those seeking a light, refreshing treat.
I’m a big ice cream fan, and I love lemon, so creating the perfect lemon ice cream was important to me. This recipe hits the mark with the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness!
How to Make a Lemon Ice Cream
To make lemon ice cream, start by zesting 2 lemons and extracting their juice. Heat 350 ml milk with ¼ cup sugar and lemon zest until boiling, then cool and strain the milk. Mix 2 tablespoons of cornflour into the cooled milk and cook until thick.
Now add lemon juice and cook briefly to form a pudding, then refrigerate for one hour. Separately, beat 1 cup chilled whipped cream with ⅓ cup sugar until creamy. Mix the pudding with the whipped cream. You can add food coloring which is totally optional. Freeze for 7-8 hours, and your lemon ice cream is ready.
Lemon Ice Cream Recipe (step-by-step)
Ingredients
- Lemon juice: 2 tablespoons
- Lemon zest: 1 tablespoon
- Milk: 350 mili litre
- Sugar: ¼ cup (for lemon milk pudding)
- Cornflour: 2 tablespoons
- Chilled whipped cream: 1 cup
- Sugar: ⅓ cup
- Green food color: a few drops (optional)
Instructions
- First, we need to prepare 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. To do that I am using 2 lemons. Here, I am taking the help of a grater to grate the green skin of those lemons.
- Now the lemon zest is ready, keep this aside!
- At this point, I need to make the lemon juice. So, cut the lemons in the middle and make the juice with the help of a squeezer.
- Now set the lemon juice aside.
- Now take the 350 mili litre of normal milk in a pan. Then add ¼ cup of sugar and the prepared lemon zest to it. Here you need to mix all the ingredients well and cook the mixture until boil.
- Once the milk gets boiled perfectly, you need to sieve the milk. Now let the milk be cooled for a while.
- Now, pour the cold milk into a pan and add 2 tablespoons of cornflour to the milk. Take a whisk and mix it well. You need to cook it until it gets thickened. You need to show some patience here.
- When the milk gets thickened, add the lemon juice we made earlier. Now cook it one more minute. After that, the lemon milk pudding is ready. Then keep it aside for a while, once it gets cool a little bit, keep it in the refrigerator for one hour. Congratulations your half job is done!
- After one hour, take 1 cup of chilled whipped cream, now add ⅓ cup of sugar to it. You have to mix them together very well. At this moment, beat the cream until creamy consistency. The speed of the beater should be at a medium level.
- Once you achieve a creamy texture, take out the lemon pudding from the refrigerator and add it to the cream. Now, you can add a few drops of lemon food color to increase the visual appeal. Then, you need to beat 2 more minutes. However, remember that it’s completely optional, you can avoid it if you want.
- Well, the ice cream base is ready. Take a mold and pour the cream on it. Now take a plastic wrap and cover it properly. Finally, keep it in the refrigerator for 7-8 hours.
- After 7-8 hours take your hard work out from the refrigerator. Yum Yum, your lemon ice cream is completely ready. The texture of your ice cream is rich and creamy . Now enjoy it!
For Variations, You Can Try!
- You can swap the lemons for other citrus fruits like Meyer lemons, limes, yuzu, or sour oranges.
- You can use fresh seasonal fruits like strawberries, peaches, or blueberries instead of lemon juice and zest.
- To make vanilla ice cream, you can replace the lemon with a few teaspoons of vanilla extract or a vanilla bean.
- For a dairy-free option, use coconut cream instead of heavy cream, remember it will add a coconut flavor.
Chef’s Tips
- When using a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, make sure not to overfill the freezer bowl. Stick to 3 cups of liquid in total. For this recipe, that’s 1 ½ cups heavy cream, 1 cup milk, and ½ cup lemon juice.
- The milk mixture can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. You must chill for at least 2 hours but overnight is ideal for the best results.
- As the mixture churns, it will expand. If it starts to overflow near the end, don’t worry—it’s normal, and the ice cream will already be set.
- Keep your Cuisinart freezer bowl in the freezer so it’s always ready when you want to make ice cream.
- If the ice cream becomes too hard after freezing, you need to let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. After that, you can serve.