This raspberry lemon ice cream is bright, lemony and perfectly balanced with a delicious raspberry swirl and bits of frozen raspberry. Made with a rich custard base of egg yolks and cream, it’s incredibly smooth and creamy.
I've been obsessed with making ice cream recently. It's so so much better than store-bought and the best part: you can customize it to your liking! And make ANY flavour you want! The possibilities are quite literally, endless.
So of course I'm making my favourite flavour combo into ice cream form. For more amazing recipes with these flavours, check out my Lemon Raspberry Rolls, and Lemon Cookies with Raspberry Curd!
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Custard Base
Instead of a usual custard base which uses multiple egg yolks, I'm using just one yolk. I find the taste is less 'eggy' and the flavours are cleaner.
Yolks act like a stabilizer and thickener in ice creams, making it creamy and smooth. The single yolk provides some of those textural benefits, while also resulting in a cleaner flavour. I've also added skim milk powder and corn syrup to improve the texture of the ice cream as well.
The skim milk powder improves the texture, it works to prevent ice crystals from forming in the ice cream.
The corn syrup helps to lower the freezing point of the ice cream and makes it more scoop-able. Technically sugar can be used for this but to get the same results, you need to use sugar in a higher quantity, which often makes it too sweet and messes with the flavour.
Ingredients
I recommend getting good quality ingredients, as the flavours are going to be much more prominent and make a huge difference!
- Whole milk
- Heavy cream/whipping cream
- Sugar
- Lemon zest
- Skim milk powder
- Corn syrup
- Lemon extract
- Egg yolks
- Salt
- Raspberries
- Cornstarch
See recipe card for quantities.
Making the Ice Cream Base
- Massage the lemon zest and sugar for a few minutes. It'll be a pale yellow. This helps extract the oil from the skin - enhancing flavour.
- In a sauce pan, heat the cream, milk, skim milk powder, salt and the rest of the sugar until hot. Don't bring to a boil.
- In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar until pale and light.
- Gradually whisk in the half a cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture. Make sure to whisk as you add it in, or else the eggs can scramble.
- Add the mixture back to the sauce pan and cook the mixture until it reaches 170-175°F, then cool it in an ice bath. Add in the lemon extract.
- Place in a bowl with plastic wrap touching the surface of the mixture or place in a leak proof ziploc bag. Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Raspberry Sauce
This is really straightforward to make and you can adjust the sweetness depending on your taste! Make this while the ice cream base is chilling so it has time to cool down as well.
- In a saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently while mashing the raspberries with a spoon until they break down completely and the mixture becomes liquidy.
- Once the raspberries are fully broken down, add the cornstarch slurry. Stir continuously and cook for a few more minutes until the sauce thickens to a smooth, saucy consistency but is not too runny.
- Finally, remove the saucepan from heat and allow the raspberry sauce to cool completely before using.
Churning the Ice Cream
- After chilling, ensure the ice cream base is around 34°F (1°C), which helps the ice cream churn more quickly and form smaller ice crystals, resulting in a smoother texture. Set up your ice cream machine according to the instructions, start it, and slowly pour in the base while it’s running.
- Churn for 25-30 minutes until the ice cream becomes thick and stiff, with a slightly dry surface, similar to soft-serve consistency at around -6°C to -10°C (21.2°F — 14°F).
- Transfer half of the churned ice cream to a freezer-safe container, swirling in a few tablespoons of raspberry sauce and some frozen raspberry bits. Add the remaining ice cream and swirl in more sauce and raspberry bits.
- Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours until firm. Scoop, serve, and enjoy with extra raspberry sauce if desired!
Equipment - Ice cream machine
This ice cream recipe is made for an ice cream maker or machine. I haven't tried it out without one so I can't say for sure, if it would turn out the same without.
I use the Cuisinart ICE-70C and I've had great results with it. It also has a gelato and sorbet function! I'm sure any ice cream machines you have on hand will work.
Storage
Store the ice cream in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to a week or two. The recipe doesn't use any extra stabilizers so it's best consumed fresh.
Top Tip
- Don't scramble the eggs: When adding hot milk to egg yolks, do it slowly and whisk continuously to prevent curdling. This technique ensures a smooth and creamy base.
- Massage the lemon zest and sugar: This helps extract the oils from the skin (where most of the flavour is) and really enhances the lemon flavour in the ice cream
- Chill the base: After chilling, the ice cream base temperature should be about 34°F or 1°C. This helps make sure the ice cream churns faster—leading to smaller ice crystal formation. Which results in smoother, creamier ice cream. If possible, place the base in the freezer for about half and hour to an hour before churning, to ensure it's as cold as possible. Just make sure there are no frozen solids.
FAQ
Yes, you can substitute non dairy milk such as oat milk, etc. However, the texture and creaminess might vary from the original recipe. You want to find a milk with the same fat % as the dairy milk and the same with cream.
Yes, you can use fresh raspberries. However, freezing them first helps to maintain their texture and makes them easier to mix into the ice cream without becoming mushy.
Related recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Lemon Raspberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 400 ml - heavy cream
- 400 ml - whole milk
- 2 tablespoon - skim milk powder
- 2 tablespoon - corn syrup (40g)
- 1 - large egg yolk
- ¾ cup - granulated white sugar (150g)
- ¼ teaspoon - salt
- zest of 2 lemons
- 2 teaspoon - lemon extract
- ½ cup - frozen raspberries (to mix in before freezing)
Raspberry Sauce
- ½ cup - raspberries
- 3 tablespoon - sugar
- pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon - cornstarch + 1 teaspoon water (for slurry)
Instructions
- Massage together the lemon zest and sugar for a few minutes to extract the oils.
- Beat together the egg yolk, ⅓ of the sugar and the corn syrup until light and pale.
- Combine the cream, milk, skim milk powder, salt and the rest of the sugar in a saucepan and heat over low heat until the the mixture is hot. It shouldn’t come to a boil.
- Slowly add half a cup of the hot milk mixture into the beaten egg yolk mixture, making sure to stir continuously so the egg doesn't curdle. Add another half cup and do the same.
- Return the mixture to the pot and over medium-low heat, slowly bring the temperature of the ice cream base to about 175F or 79C. Don't bring it to a boil.
- Cool down the base by placing the pot in an ice bath and stir until it's room temperature. Mix in the lemon extract.
- Store the mixture in a leak proof bag or airtight container in the fridge overnight to chill and develop the flavours. Freeze the ice cream insert according to manufacturers instructions. I do anywhere from 12-24 hours.
Raspberry Sauce
- Add the raspberries, sugar and salt to a saucepan. Place over medium heat and cook for a few minutes and mash the raspberries with a spoon as you stir. The mixture will be liquidy and the raspberries will have completely broken down.
- Add in the cornstartch slurry. Stir and cook for a few minutes until fairly thickened. It should be saucy consistency but not too runny. It will thicken further as it cools.
- Take off the heat and let cool.
Churn Ice Cream
- After chilling, the ice cream base temperature should be about 34°F or 1°C. This helps make sure the ice cream churns faster—leading to smaller ice crystal formation. Which results in smoother, creamier ice cream.
- Set up your ice cream machine according to manufacturers instructions and click start. Pour in the ice cream base as it's spinning.
- Churn for about 25-30 minutes, - the ice cream will be thick, stiff and the surface will look a bit dry-shouldn't be too shiny. The temperature should be about -6℃ to -10℃ (21.2°F — 14°F). It'll be kind of like a soft serve consistency.
- Transfer about half of the ice cream into a freezer safe container and swirl in a couple tablespoons of the raspberry sauce and sprinkle the frozen raspberry bits. Add the rest of the ice cream and swirl in a few more spoons of the raspberry sauce and the frozen raspberry bits. Cover and freeze for a minimum of 4 hours to harden up.
- Scoop, serve and enjoy with some more raspberry sauce if desired!
Stacy says
I’m new to ice cream making but this turned out so good! My fam loved it
Nabeah Wahab says
Hi Stacy,
Welcome to the world of ice cream making! I'm happy you guys enjoyed the recipe