Creamy Homemade Lemon Custard Ice Cream
This luxuriously rich, ultra-smooth ice cream is built on a classic traditional egg yolk custard base. Home cooks consistently rave about its bright, zesty, vibrant flavor that comes straight from fresh-squeezed lemon juice, rather than artificial additives. Reviewer and long-time fan Lemonfan56 shares: “This recipe is straightforward, uses only basic everyday ingredients, and sets up perfectly every single time.”
Ingredients
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 ⅛ cups granulated white sugar
1 cup half-and-half cream
3 tablespoons grated lemon zest (adjust quantity to taste)
5 large egg yolks
¾ cup fresh lemon juice (adjust quantity to taste)
Directions
Prep and measure all ingredients before you begin cooking.
Combine heavy cream, sugar, half-and-half, and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over low heat, stirring constantly until all sugar dissolves completely (about 5 minutes). Remove the pan from heat, cover tightly, and let the lemon zest steep to infuse its flavor into the cream for 10 minutes.
Uncover the pan and return it to low heat to bring the mixture back to a gentle simmer. While you wait, beat the egg yolks until smooth in a medium mixing bowl. Gradually whisk 1 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks, adding just a few tablespoons at a time. This tempering step brings eggs up to temperature slowly to prevent scrambling.
Stir the warmed egg mixture back into the remaining cream mixture in the saucepan until fully combined.
Keep cooking and stirring over low heat until the custard thickens enough to evenly coat the back of a spoon, which takes 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the finished custard base to a large bowl, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours to overnight.
Once the base is fully chilled, stir fresh lemon juice into the mixture until evenly distributed. Churn the base in a 4- to 5-quart ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s specific directions for your model.
Transfer the churned soft ice cream to a lidded, freezer-safe container. Freeze for an additional 4 hours to let flavors ripen and meld, and allow the ice cream to firm up fully before serving.
