Flavor of the Week – Lemon Ice Cream

Ever since Roni got an ice cream maker for me at Christmas, we’ve been busy making ice cream.  Usually about once a week we try a new ice cream recipe, or make one up.  I couldn’t find a good lemon ice cream recipe, so I decided to sort of make one up.  For those of you who like lemon, this one is a recipe you will be sure to love!  This recipe brings all of the creaminess of ice cream but has a tartness somewhere between lemon sherbet and lemon sorbet.  For a milder lemon flavor, do not add the lemon juice.

Yield: about 1.5-2 quarts

Ingredients:

Zest from 3 lemons
1 cup cream
3 cups half-and-half

8 large egg yolks
9 ounces (by weight) sugar (about 1 cup)

juice from 3 lemons
3 tablespoons lemon juice (in addition)

1. Put the lemon zest, cream, and half-and-half into a medium sauce pot and slowly bring to a simmer.  Turn off heat and let sit for 20 minutes.

2. Whisk egg yolks until they begin to lighten in color.  Add in sugar in small increments and whisk to incorporate each time.

3.  Strain the cream mixture to remove zest and return the mixture to the pot.

4. Add approximately 1/2 cup of warm cream mixture to the eggs and whisk the eggs.  Continue adding cream in 1/2 cup increments whisking between each addition until approximately 1/3 of the cream mixture has been fully incorporated with the eggs.  Add egg mixture to the pot.

5. Slowly bring up temperature to 170-175 degrees, stirring constantly.  Mix should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

6. remove from heat and pour mix into heat-safe bowl.  Cover and place mix in the fridge for 4-8 hours.  Place lemon juice in the fridge at this time.

7. Add mix to ice cream maker according to instructions.

8. About 4 minutes before the ice cream is complete add in the lemon juice.  Do not add the lemon juice too early!  Adding the juice too early will cause acid in the lemon juice to curdle the milk.  We want lemon ice cream, not buttermilk.

9.  Pack into air-tight containers and freeze for several hours for firm ice cream, or eat it right away for a soft ice cream.