Lemon lovers rejoice with this creamy, dense, smooth and rich, custard based ice cream. Simple fresh ingredients. You'll need an ice cream maker. If you're making this in spring, try it with Meyer lemons if you can find them.
2tablespoonsfinely grated lemon zestuse a microplane zester
¾cupnatural granulated sugar
5largeegg yolks
⅔cuplemon juice3-4 lemons
pinch of salt
Instructions
Pour cream and milk into a medium saucepan (about 3 quarts) and add lemon zest. Turn heat to medium low and allow the zest to infuse the half and half while you work on the eggs and sugar.
Create an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water ¾ full and set aside to cool ice cream base. Set a medium bowl into the ice and pace a sieve on top. Whisk sugar and yolks together in a medium bowl until thick, pale and smooth. You’ll get a good arm workout.
Get the dairy hot but don't boil it. Add a ¼ cup of the hot dairy to the yolks and whisk until smooth. Do this several times to “temper” the eggs so they do not scramble when you add them into the pan to cook the custard.
Add the egg-sugar-dairy mixture back into the pan over medium-low heat and whisk continually. Turn heat down to low and cook until the custard coats the back of a spoon when you draw a line through it with your finger, just a couple of minutes. Turn off heat. Stir in lemon juice and salt.
Pour the liquid custard through the sieve into the medium bowl to catch any egg bits and lemon zest. Let the lemon custard chill. When cold cover and refrigerate until very cold then churn in your ice cream maker. When done, scoop into a container, cover and freeze for several hours.
Notes
Tip - Stirring the liquid custard speeds the cooling process. When it reaches 70°F or lower, place the bowl in the refrigerator for about 2 hours to get really cold. The colder it is, the faster it will freeze in your ice cream maker.