Looks can be deceiving. Plain old vanilla ice cream?
No. Guess again.
It’s actually lemon. With some orange thrown in.
I based this ice cream on my father’s favourite lemon meringue pie recipe, which calls for condensed milk. With a bowl of oranges threatening to dissolve into a green powdery heap before my eyes, I salvaged the best looking one and added it to the mix. The results? An exceptionally creamy Philadelphia style ice cream with a light citrus flavour. No eggs. No firing up the stovetop. Just a few minutes with the microplane — important factors in this relentless summer heat.
My father, who opts for vanilla at the ice cream shop each and every time, says he liked it. A lot.
Look, the ice cream’s melting. Enough talk. Pass me a spoon.
Lemon Pie Ice Cream
Make 1 quart
- juice and zest of 2 lemons
- juice and zest of 1 orange
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1 can (14 oz or 300 ml) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- Wash, zest and squeeze the lemons and orange. (Don’t used bottled lemon juice. It will taste metallic.)
- In a large non-reactive bowl, mix together the cream, milk, condensed milk and sea salt. Add the juice and zest, stirring until evenly blended.
- Cover the mixture and refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight. If it’s really hot, pop the ice cream into the freezer a half hour before churning.
- Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Transfer to a resealable container and freeze at least another hour.







{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds pretty perfect to me. I love the big bowl of ice cream scoops!
@Kathy – Panini Happy, thanks. When it comes to ice cream, go big or go home. (Although if I keep eating this stuff, I’ll “go big” myself into a new wardrobe.)
If it has Dad’s stamp of approval than it’s a winner…unfortunately my dad hates lemon…So I don’t think I’ll invite him over for this one! Oh well, more for me!
@foodies at home, if you’re dad likes lime, you can always substitute 4 limes for the 2 lemons. Or not.
This sounds so fresh and delightful!!
@Jennifer @ Maple n Cornbread, thanks! If you do try it, let me know what you think.
definitely the most delicious match made couple ever!
@hannah {thepastrykook}, my father is a lemon aficionado. This gets his seal of approval, so you know it’s good.
MMMMM,..your ice cream looks like the real treat!
I love the added condensed milk in here,..that must taste extra special!
@Sophie, the condensed milk makes it very creamy. I love that I can play with ingredients with my ice cream maker.
two cups whipping cream…now that’s my kind of ice cream
@Dina, yup. Nothing low cal here. But in my defense, you only need a small amount to feel satisfied. The challenge is listening to your stomach when your mouth is shouting for more.
Yum! I love ice cream with sweetened condensed milk. This would be fantastic as an ice cream pie in a graham cracker crust, or as a sandwich between two digestive cookies.
@Cheryl Arkison, great idea. I put the graham crust right into the ice cream when I made coconut cream pie ice cream. I didn’t this time because the ice cream maker was at capacity. Love the graham cracker suggestion, too!
Sounds fresh and delicious. I’ve got the lemons, I only wish I had an orange too.
@Amanda, make it without the orange. It will be lovely, just a little different, that’s all.
Hi, I’ve been looking for a good lemon ice cream recipe and I stumbled across this one. I’m off to the shops to buy some condensed milk now! I’ll let you know how it goes.
BTW: Is the sea salt a must have?
@Chloe, glad you found the recipe!
You don’t have to use sea salt. Regular table salt will do, but I’d reduce the amount to 1/8 tsp since table salt tends to be a bit harsher. However, if you choose to use Kosher salt, increase the salt by a pinch. You need a bit of salt to take the edge off the lemon.
Hope you like the results.
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