Lemon Meringue Ice Cream

A dreamy lemon meringue ice cream! With a velvety lemon base, crumbled meringue pieces, and swirled through with tart lemon curd.

Lemon meringue ice cream is the perfect sweet-tart antidote for warm weather. With just enough lemon curd spiralled through to cut the sweetness, it’s a citrus dream.

This is the perfect no-waste egg recipe – yolks go in the ice cream, whites go in the meringues! You’ll make more meringues than you need for the ice cream, but they last for ages and are lovely as is.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Method
• Tips and Notes
• Substitutions
• Recipe

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.

Ingredients

Method

Add the sugar and egg yolks to a large, heat-safe mixing bowl. Use electric beaters to whip until fluffy and lightened in colour, 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

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Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring frequently, until almost boiling (once it starts to bubble, turn off the heat).

Slowly pour ¼ cup of the hot milk into the sugar mixture, stirring as you pour. This tempers the eggs, preventing curdling.

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Add the remaining milk in a low stream, stirring constantly, until fully incorporated. Whisk in the lemon zest.

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Pour the milk mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. This should take about 10 minutes, and the custard is ready when it coats the back of a wooden spoon.

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Pour the lemon juice into the custard and whisk to incorporate.

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To quickly cool the custard, pour it into a heat-safe bowl and place it into an ice bath, stirring to speed cooling even more. It should come to room temperature in a few minutes. Alternatively, cover and set aside to cool.

Once the custard has cooled, cover and place it into the refrigerator to chill for about two hours. Once chilled, it should be thickened and cold to the touch.

Pour the chilled custard into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Once the ice cream has churned, scoop it into a container with a lid. Stir in the meringue pieces, then swirl in the lemon curd. You can add the curd in two layers, as pictured, to ensure that it’s evenly incorporated.

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Freeze the ice cream in an airtight container for up to one month. Thaw in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before scooping and serving.

Tips and Notes

We haven’t made this recipe no-churn, but you could follow Kelly’s lemon curd ice cream recipe and add the meringue pieces in. The base ice cream won’t be quite as lemony without cooking the zest, but it’s still great.

No need to thaw before scooping, really, as this is soft enough to scoop right from the deep-freeze. You can pop it in the fridge for a few minutes beforehand if preferred, but it shouldn’t be necessary.

The meringue pieces do soften slightly when mixed with the ice cream, but still add a nice texture.

If you cook the custard on too high a temperature and it curdles slightly, you can try to fix it by immediately setting the base of the saucepan into cold water and whisking rapidly. This won’t work if it’s scrambled, but will reduce small lumps enough to continue with the ice cream.

Substitutions

Sub a good plant-based cream for a dairy-free option. You can also use 100% full-fat coconut milk (cream only) to replace both the milk and cream.

Use store-bought meringues if preferred.

Try swirling in some raspberry or strawberry jam for an extra hit of fruit!

More Ice Cream and Frozen Treats

Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream
Sweet Cream Ice Cream
Mint Oreo Ice Cream
Vegan Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Mango Raspberry Popsicles

If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.