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
Ingredients
- 4 medium lemons (from these you will get the zest as well as ¾-cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice)
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups half-and-half, divided
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided
- 2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and patted dry
- 1 tablespoon 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 ½ cup of juice.
Make the custard:
- Whisk together in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat the zest, lemon juice, 1 cup of the sugar and the eggs. Stir them until the mixture is just beginning to warm through.
- Add in 1 cup of the half-and-half and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract. Increase the 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 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: 2 hours.
Make the ice cream:
- Once the custard is chilled whisk in the remaining 1 cup of half-and-half.
- 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 in the remaining granulated sugar and the remaining vanilla extract. Toss the blueberries with a large spoon to mix everything together. 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 3-3-½ cups of ice cream. 6 servings of ice cream with blueberries.
The Armchair Squid
Looks so good. Lemon and blueberries are, indeed, an outstanding combination. Nice photos, too.
Have a great weekend!
Nancy Mock
Thank you Squid, I hope you guys have a great weekend too!
armchairsquid
See you soon. Looking forward to dessert treats.