Lemon Curd Ice Cream is the newest addition to my list of favorite ice cream recipes. This recipe combines two of my favorite summertime flavors: lemon curd and ice cream. It's both refreshing and tart. The recipe uses this homemade lemon curd recipe, but can easily be substituted with a jar of store bought curd. If you are a lemon lover this homemade lemon curd ice cream is for you.
You Can Never Have Too Many Lemons
Last week I made homemade lemon curd, lemon curd butter, lemon cheesecake, and lemon poppy seed cake. Are you seeing a pattern here with lemon recipes? I'm sure you are thinking she's one of those crazy lemon lovers or she has a huge lemon tree and is trying to use the produce. Almost both are true. I'm a huge lemon lover and I only have a small lemon tree, but I have huge hopes it will continue to produce large quantities of lemons. When I lived in California I had multiple lemon trees in my orchard, but now that I'm in Las Vegas, my yard is much smaller and so are my lemon trees.
So with leftover lemon curd, what's a gal to do? This creamy ice cream will finally use up the last bit of curd I have, at least until the next batch. Come on little lemon tree! You can do it!
Ingredients For The Ice Cream Base
- 2 Lemons for lemon zest and lemon juice - Only use fresh lemon juice. That stuff that comes in the bottle, won't give you the best flavor. I also like to use organic lemons since we are using the zest. If you don't have organic, just be sure to clean your lemons well. Depending on your size of lemons, you might need a third to get you to the needed amount of lemon juice.
- Sugar
- Whole Milk
- Heavy Cream
- Lemon Curd - Homemade or store bought lemon curd. If using store bought lemon curd just be sure to get a good quality lemon curd.
How To Make The Lemon Curd Ice Cream
As with all ice cream recipes the ingredients come together quickly. In a blender or use a hand mixer to combine the sugar and lemon zest, until the zest is very fine. Add the lemon juice, then the milk and heavy cream. Mix until the sugar dissolves and is smooth. Pour this into a medium sized bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of lemon curd. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool in the refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight, making sure enough cooling time has lapsed before putting it into the canister of an ice cream maker.
Follow your manufacturers instructions on your ice cream machine to process the ice cream. Once completed use a spatula to spoon into a freezer safe container and layer with swirls of the remaining lemon curd. Use a table knife or skewer to swirl in the curd. At this time, your ice cream will be a soft serve consistency. I usually sneak a small bowl before I place in the freezer.
Place your finished ice cream mixture in the freezer overnight or until ready to serve. This will last for about two weeks in the freezer.
What About The Eggs?
I wanted to make a light and refreshing, not heavy and rich ice cream. Egg yolks provide fat and protein which is pretty darn tasty but in the end I just felt it would be too rich for the lemon flavor that I was looking for. A super-eggy ice cream is essentially frozen ice cream custard—dense, chewy with slow melting qualities; it's all about texture and refreshing flavor in this case!
Allow The Lemon Curd Ice Cream To Sit On The Counter for 10 Minutes
Our lemon curd ice cream freezes well and can be hard to scoop when first removed from the freezer. Allow it to soften for a few minutes so you’ll have an easier time before serving up the lemon dessert! And for best results, I also run my ice cream scooper under hot water to heat it up a bit to help with scooping frozen ice cream. If you are really a lemon lover, top each bowl with some extra delicious homemade lemon curd for even more flavor that will make your taste buds sing.
Looking For More Recipes?
Summer heat and ice cream go hand in hand. It's a perfect way to beat the summer heat and cool down after a long day of work. If you are looking for an easy ice cream recipe that is sure to please everyone at your next family gathering or BBQ event then this lemon curd ice cream recipe has just what you’re looking for! You can find more tips on how to make delicious desserts like these by signing up below—we won't send anything else unless it's related only to food writing.
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Lemon Curd Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 Lemons - zested
- ½ cup Sugar (100 grams)
- ½ cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice (125 mL)
- 1 cup Whole Milk (250 mL)
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream (250 mL)
- ½ cup Lemon Curd
Instructions
- Add lemon zest and sugar to blender and mix until the lemon zest is very fine.
- Add lemon juice and blend until sugar is dissolved.
- Blend in the whole milk and heavy cream until smooth.
- Pour mixture into a medium bowl and add 2 tablespoons of lemon curd. Stir to combine. Cover your mixture with plastic wrap or use an airtight container, cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Freeze your mixture into your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.
- As you remove it from the machine, layer in the airtight freezer container with swirls of the remaining lemon curd.
Notes
Nutrition
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Claudia Lamascolo says
Lemon is an all time favorite flavor for all of us never thought to make ice cream great idea!
serena says
It's such a refreshing ice cream. Perfect for summer 🙂
Beth says
Oh wow! This ice cream looks amazing and so delicious! My daughter and I love this, and it’s perfect for summer! Can’t wait to make this!
serena says
Thanks Beth!
Meenakshi Thakur says
The ice cream looks so delicious! I love lemon curd.. and to have these flavors in an ice cream.. can't wait to try them.
serena says
Thanks Meenakshi 🙂
Biana says
Yum! This ice cream looks delicious, both sweet and tart at the same time.
serena says
Thanks Biana 🙂
Chenée says
This is an amazing recipe! So bright and lemony and perfect for levoftover lemon curd!
serena says
Thanks so much Chenee 🙂
Wanda says
I adore anything and everything lemon so I know this ice cream will be a big hit here! Bookmarking to try this weekend!
serena says
I'm with you Wanda, I'm a total lemon lover!
Shinta Simon says
I absolutely love the gorgeous illustration of ingredients! And you're right, one cannot have enough of lemons. Such a great recipe
serena says
Thanks so much Shinta!
Angela says
I am so excited for summer to be here. We make homemade ice cream all summer. This lemon curd ice cream is definitely going into the rotation. What a bright and flavorful ice cream!
serena says
Thanks Angela! Enjoy 🙂
Nathan says
I can't say I've ever made anything with lemon curd before, but this ice cream looks so delicious I'm absolutely going to have to try it. Sounds perfect for a warm summer day!
serena says
Give it a go, it's delicious, and so wonderful for a warm summer day 🙂
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
My family is going to love this, thank you for the recipe!
serena says
I hope they enjoy it 🙂