Tart Lactose-free Lemon Ice Cream
If you love bold citrus flavor, this homemade lactose-free lemon ice cream is for you. Made with real dairy, a rich egg custard base, fresh lemon juice, and plenty of lemon zest, this creamy frozen dessert delivers the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Customize the tang with extra lemon juice or citric acid for an extra punch.
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PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 15 minutes
FREEZE TIME: 4-8 hours
CHURN TIME: 25 minutes
SERVINGS: 8
TOTAL TIME: 5 hours
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups full-fat lactose-free milk
¼ cup butter (¼ cup = 1/2 stick)
¾ cup sugar
4 egg yolks
½ cup lemon juice (OPTIONAL: + 5 Tablespoons lemon juice. This is where the extra tart comes from)
Zest from 3 lemons, ~1.5 Tablespoons of lemon zest from washed lemons
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
OPTIONAL (1/4 Tsp citric acid, for that EXTRA kick of tart)
Notes
1. You can make this over two days. The ice cream custard needs to be cold before adding it to the ice cream machine.
2. If you want it less sweet, use ½ cup sugar. It may not taste like ice cream though. See if you like it. I started with ½ cup, & ended with ¾ + 1/8 cup Monk fruit for additional sweetness.
3. The ½ cup of sugar was not enough for me. You may be fine with it. I recommend trying it, knowing you can always add more.
4. I suggest straining the lemon zest. I did not & it was fine, except when I was chewing on more zest than I wanted.
5. I like my lemon desserts EXTREMELY LEMON & TART!! That’s where the extra 5 tablespoons lemon juice & citric acid come in. Completely optional, but it can add an additional layer of tartness.
Recipe Credit: Dr. Kellie E. Mayfield PhD, RDN, LD
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Instructions
CUSTARD
Add zest to milk. Heat to a simmer. While the milk is heating, whisk the sugar into the eggs.
Add sugar to egg yolks. Whisk to incorporate and start to dissolve the sugar.
Milk has been heated to a simmer. I add some to the yolks to temper the eggs (temper, as in not to curdle the eggs).
Place milk, egg yolks, sugar, and zest mixture back on the stove. Heat to simmer or 160 degrees F.
Stop cooking.
Add lemon juice to mixture and taste. It wasn’t enough! So I added more.
Decide here if you want more tartness and add the citric acid.
Cool in the refrigerator.
ICE CREAM
I made this with my 1.5-quart Cuisinart ice-cream maker. I highly recommend it, especially if you are lactose intolerant.
You must freeze the bowl. It needs to be frozen solid before you add the ice cream custard.
I recommend spinning for 25 to 30 minutes, checking about halfway through. Thirty minutes is a long time. It will be fine, but may be frozen hard & stuck to the side of the bowl.
I like to eat mine after a hard freeze for a few hours or the next day. Depends on your preferences.