Creamy vanilla ice cream swirled with tart lemon curd is a treat worth making year-round. Brighten up your next dessert with this refreshing lemon curd ice cream!
Lemon Curd Desserts
When I first had the idea for this ice cream, I tried making it with freshly churned lemon ice cream. While that was delicious, it was overwhelmingly lemony, without a strong flavor from the curd itself.
Well, I adore lemon curd desserts, so that wasn’t going to work for me. Next, I tried swirling it into a batch of cheesecake ice cream.
That was delicious as well, but it wasn’t quite what I wanted. The cheesecake flavor was dominant, and I really wanted the curd to be center stage in this ice cream.
I should’ve known that I’d wind my way back to classic vanilla ice cream for this recipe. The base is simple with just five ingredients: heavy cream, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla.
Those pure ice cream flavors allow the subtle brightness of the lemon to shine exactly the way I imagined it could. For a real treat, warm the leftover curd and drizzle it over each cold, creamy scoop. You won’t regret it.
Microwave Lemon Curd
When I first saw a recipe for microwave lemon curd, I have to admit that I was skeptical. I love lemon curd, but I am such a slacker about making it. I never want to stand by the stove and stir it for the requisite 15 minutes.
But, having tried this method of making it, I may never do it on the stove again. The microwave really does work for this! And, it’s so simple, the hardest part is juicing the lemons.
Lemon Curd Ice Cream
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:
- heavy cream
- milk
- sugar
- kosher salt
- vanilla extract
- lemon curd
Whisk together the cream, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions.
While the ice cream is churning, make the lemon curd and cool it completely. If you are using store-bought curd, stir it until it is smooth and pourable, heating it for just a few seconds at a time in the microwave if needed. Make sure the curd has cooled to room temperature before adding it to the ice cream.
When the ice cream has finished churning, scoop about half of the ice cream into a freezer-safe container and drizzle it generously with about half of the lemon curd.
Repeat these layers with the remaining ice cream and curd. Freeze until firm. Serve with warm lemon curd drizzled over each serving, if desired.
The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!
With over 70 ice cream recipes here to choose from, there’s sure to be an ice cream for everyone! If you’re new to making ice cream, the best and easiest vanilla ice cream is a great place to start.
These are my favorite inexpensive containers for storing ice cream. They’re perfect for gifting (who doesn’t love homemade ice cream?) storage, re-using, etc. I write the flavors on the lids with a sharpie and it washes off with dish soap.
I have more ice cream scoops than I can keep track of at this point and I definitely play favorites. This ice cream scoop does the best job ever of cutting through firm ice cream and still delivers a pretty scoop. It gets bonus points for being one of the least expensive scoops I own as well.
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Lemon Ice Cream
For a few more lemon curd inspired desserts, you should check out these baked peaches with lemon curd. And, you should definitely try it drizzled over this lemon cheesecake.
And, these berry cheesecake mousse cups are a must. The mousse is a delightfully light and airy whipped dessert that pairs perfectly with lemon curd.
If you’re lucky enough to have any curd remaining, it’s delicious over this mixed berry ice cream too. These lemon bars with chocolate ganache caught my eye the other day, so they’re on my list to try soon too!
Last, but not least, if you love this recipe, you should definitely try the original lemon ice cream as well.
Lemon Curd Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 1½ cups milk
- ¾ cups sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup lemon curd homemade or store-bought
Instructions
- Whisk together the cream, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.
- While the ice cream is churning, prepare the lemon curd (see notes). Make sure the curd has cooled to room temperature before adding it to the ice cream.
- When the ice cream has finished churning, scoop it into a freezer-safe container with drizzles of lemon curd, creating alternating layers. Freeze until firm.
- Serve with warm lemon curd drizzled over each serving, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Sue says
Did you put the churned vanilla ice cream in the 8×8 pan alternating the layers? Then did you put in the 1qt container?
Mary Younkin says
Hi, Sue! I put the ice cream in the 8×8 pan to make layers. Usually I’ll store the ice cream in a plastic container (the metal pan tends to get too cold to handle if frozen).
Sue Lodato says
Did you put the ice cream in an 8×8 pan to swirl the lemon curd and then put it in a freezer container? Picture and wording did not seem to match. Thanks