Lavender Lemon Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream

Raspberry ripple ice cream is even better paired with lemon in this homemade frozen custard. This is a traditional, slow churned, custard based lemon ice cream, made with cream, egg yolks, lemon curd and a hint of lavender, swirled with ripples of sweet raspberry jam.

You might also love these homemade ice cream recipes for cardamom mango ice cream, toasted coconut chocolate chunk ice cream, and lavender honey ice cream.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Perfectly Lemony. You rarely, if ever, see lemon ice cream, since acidic lemon juice and dairy don’t mix well. And if you were to simply add lemon juice to milk and cream to make lemon ice cream, it would likely curdle.  Which is why you will only find lemon sorbets in grocery stores, since sorbets are typically made from juice, sugar and water with no dairy.  But by using lemon curd, where lemon juice and lemon zest have already been cooked into a thick custard with sugar and egg yolks, and finished with butter, you can make a beautiful and creamy lemon ice cream that’s bursting with lemon flavor.

So Smooth and Creamy. Since lemon curd already contains quite a bit of sugar, I added less sugar than usual to the ice cream base. But I did, however, add the usual number of egg yolks, even though lemon curd contains those too.  And because of the high ratio of egg yolks to milk and cream, the texture of this ice cream is so beautiful, so rich, smooth and creamy.  It couldn’t be more perfect.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

• Whole Milk + Heavy Whipping Cream. The high fat content of whole milk and heavy whipping cream makes a smooth, creamy ice cream. You’ll be whipping some of the cream separately to fold into the lemon custard before churning the ice cream base.
• Granulated Sugar. You don’t need much extra sugar, since the lemon curd already contains quite a bit of sugar.
• Egg Yolks. Add richness and body.
• Lemon Curd. The lemon curd is made of lemon juice, lemon zest, egg yolks, sugar and butter, and gives the ice cream its lemon flavor, of course, but also a very smooth, creamy texture. You can either use homemade lemon curd, or buy a jar pre-made.
• Limoncello or Vodka. A little alcohol in homemade ice cream lowers the freezing point of the mixture, promoting a smooth, not icy, texture. It is optional, though, and your ice cream will still be great without it, although it can freeze a bit harder. With the addition of the alcohol, this lemon ice cream is perfectly scoopable straight from the freezer.
• Lavender. You don’t have to add the lavender, but it adds a lovely floral note of flavor that’s so good with the raspberry and lemon.
• Seedless Raspberry Jam.

Instructions

• In a large saucepan, whisk together the milk, 1 cup of the cream, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, lemon curd, and lavender.
• Over medium heat, whisk the mixture constantly, just until it starts to steam, but don’t let it come to a boil. Remove from the heat.
• Pour the mixture into a lidded container, and refrigerate until well chilled and to allow the flavors to develop, preferably overnight. When you’re ready to churn your ice cream, pour the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove the lavender and lemon zest.
• Use an electric mixer to whip the remaining cup of heavy whipping cream until soft, thick peaks form. Whisk the whipped cream and the limoncello or vodka into the lemon custard.
• Churn the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, until it’s a soft serve consistency.

• In a bowl, vigorously whisk the raspberry jam to loosen it up into a drizzly consistency.
• Spread half the ice cream into a container with at least a 2-quart capacity, and drizzle with half the jam. Repeat with the rest of the ice cream and jam, then use a knife to gently swirl the jam in, leaving visible streaks of jam throughout the ice cream.
• Freeze until firm enough to scoop, at least 8-10 hours, or overnight.

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