Lemon Ice Cream with Crushed Blueberries

Such a flavor of summertime, is the lemon.

Brightening up a pitcher of water, adding citrus zing to grilled chicken, and lending face-puckering sweet-sourness to frozen treats.

I love a good lemon sorbet, very simple and straightforward (like this recipe from TheKitchn) with a hefty dose of sweet, but tart lemon still coming out on top.

I also recently tried King Arthur Flour’s recipe for Lemon Sherbet, a frozen treat with a softy feel thanks to milk in the mix, but still with a shocking bite of lemon.

My Lemon Ice Cream has all that lemon flavor, and with a creamy custard base that includes eggs and half-and-half, the flavor is there but tamed a bit by sweet. It is rich and thick, comforting, like a big, dairy hug.

One of lemon’s best accompaniments will always be blueberries.

Here blueberries are combined with some vanilla sugar and a dash of the lemon juice powder used in the ice cream. (If you have not yet tried Lemon Juice Powder, waste no more time. King Arthur Flour has it, and it’s invaluable!)

With a quick crushing, the blueberries grace the tops of the lemon ice cream. Sweet, bright, delicious.

Lemon Ice Cream with Crushed Blueberries

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Nancy Mock

This recipe requires an ice cream maker, and also time for the prepared custard to chill in the refrigerator.

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Ingredients

• 4 medium lemons (from these you will get the zest as well as 3/4-cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice powder, divided
• 2 cups half-and-half, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Fresh blueberries, washed and patted dry
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

Instructions

• Zest the 4 lemons and set the zest aside. Slice each lemon in half and squeeze out the juice (watch out for rogue seeds!) The lemons should give you about 1/2 cup of juice.
• Make the custard: in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together the zest, lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon of the lemon juice powder, sugar and eggs. Stir them until the mixture is just beginning to warm through.
• Add in 1 cup of the half-and-half and the vanilla extract. Increase heat to medium and cook the mixture, whisking constantly just until it begins to thicken, about 5-6 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the custard into a large-sized heat-proof bowl.
• Allow the custard to cool slightly, on the counter for about 20 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge, leaving it in until very cold: . (overnight is ideal.)
• Whisk the remaining 1 cup of half-and-half into the chilled custard.
• Pour the custard into the bowl of your ice cream maker and freeze it following the manufacturer's instructions.
• Meanwhile, place the blueberries into a small bowl. Add the vanilla sugar and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice powder, and toss the blueberries with a large spoon to coat them in the sugar. Use the back of the large spoon to gently crush the berries, so that they are juicy but still with large pieces of berry.
• Once the ice cream is ready, scoop it into six serving dishes. Divide the crushed, vanilla-sugary blueberries over the tops of the ice cream. Serve immediately, and listen to the applause from your hungry fans.
• Makes 3-3-1/2 cups of ice cream. 6 servings of ice cream with blueberries.

Notes