Ice Cream & Frozen Treats

Welcome to Day 5 of Ice Cream Week 2014! This year the event is hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen. We have teamed up with 25 amazing bloggers to share some amazing ice cream recipes with you. I hope you belong to a gym. We’ll all need it by the end of the week!

Anytime I make anything lemon I think of my Mom. She loves Lemon Meringue Pie. Everyone in our family has a specific dessert we request for our birthday dinner and lemon meringue was usually my mom’s request. My grandmother used to be the one to make it for her before she passed away, and since I live a few states away, I have not been able to celebrate my mom’s birthday with her for a few years now, otherwise I would be making the pie for her. 

I am a fan of a graham cracker crust as opposed to a pastry dough crust, but that is just a personal preference. I love the tart lemon flavor the curd gives this recipe. In the bakery I used to work in, I made lemon curd often and it is still one of my favorite things to make at home. (Nerd Alert) Custards and curds are so awesome to work with because of how eggs react and change with heat and different ingredients. 

Since meringue does not freeze well (it can get grainy) I decided not to use it in this recipe. Feel free to whip up a batch, dollop it on top and torch it, once you are ready to serve the ice cream. You can even buy those pre-made meringue cookies to crush over the ice cream instead of the normal sprinkles.

Lemon Meringue Pie Ice Cream
a Love and Confections original
Click here for a printable recipe

Lemon Meringue Pie Ice Cream Ingredients:
 – 350 grams Whole Milk
 – 120 grams Heavy Cream
 – 100 grams Egg Yolks
 – 140 grams Granulated Sugar
 – 400 grams prepared Lemon Curd, or store bought
 – 50 grams Sweetened Condensed Milk
 – 50 grams toasted & cooled Graham Cracker Crumbs

Lemon Meringue Pie Ice Cream Directions:
Day 1 (Ice Cream Base)
– Place ice cream attachment/bowl in the freezer at least 24 hours before churning.
1. Bring Milk and Heavy Cream to a slight simmer in a small sauce pan, careful not to boil it. While Milk & Heavy Cream are heating, crack Eggs into medium bowl (bowl needs to be big enough to contain the egg and milk/heavy cream mixture). Once the milk is almost ready, add Sugar to the Eggs and whisk together.
2. Temper* the warm milk & cream into the yolks
3. Return the whole mixture to the sauce pan and heat until it thickens but does not boil, also known as nappe**
4. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. If some egg bits get through the strainer, you can either use an immersion blender to make the mix come together again before cooling.
5. Once cooled to room temperature, store in the fridge, with a lid, for up to 2 days.

Day 2:
 1. Whisk together the Ice Cream Base, Lemon Curd and Sweetened Condensed Milk. Churn according to your ice cream maker manufacture instructions
 2. Layer the Ice Cream and Graham Cracker Crumbs in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Store no longer than a week (but I’m sure you will devour it before then)

* – Tempering (in this case with eggs) is increasing the temperature of a certain ingredient by gradually adding and constantly whisking a warm/hot item into it. Be careful not to add too much at one time and curdle/scramble the eggs.
** – Coat the back of a wooden spoon in the mixture and run a finger down the middle, if the mixture stays separated and doesn’t run, then you should be good. Be careful not to overcook it and curdle/scramble the eggs.

Be sure to visit all of today’s Ice Cream Week Participants: 

• Roasted Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream by Cravings of a Lunatic 
• Blackberry Peach Ice Cream by Scoop Adventures 
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sundaes by The Redhead Baker 
• Maple Whisky Ice Cream by Cookistry 
• Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream by Life Tastes Good 
• Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream by My Catholic Kitchen 
• Coffee Chip No Churn Ice Cream by The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch 
• Lemon Meringue Pie Ice Cream by Love and Confections 
• Snickerdoodle Cinnamon Ice Cream Sandwiches by Farm Fresh Feasts 
• Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwiches by Gluten Free Crumbley 
• Caramel Macchiato No Churn Ice Cream by Renee’s Kitchen Adventures 
• Double Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches by Crumb 
• No Churn S’mores Ice Cream by The Spiffy Cookie 
• Cocoa Pebbles Ice Cream Cake by Wishes and Dishes
• Mocha Mint Milkshake by The Gunny Sack 
• No Churn Low Carb Peanut Butter Coffee Ice Cream by Yours and Mine are Ours  

Since the weather has been in the mid 90s here in Central Florida, I have been experimenting and enjoying making homemade ice cream over the past few weeks. To start off, this ice cream is awesome! I don’t mean to brag, but my light bulb idea turned out really well this time… you know when you have the “light bulb”, right?  Believe me when I say, you HAVE to make this. This ice cream is friends, family and local chef/food truck owner approved!

So my light bulb idea started when I made a huge batch of Key Lime Curd. It was delicious, and I put it in various things, including these amazing Key Lime Cupcakes. I had quite a bit left over and decided to combine it with one of my all-time favorite sweets – ice cream. Added some sweetened condensed milk and toasted graham crackers… and Key Lime Pie Ice Cream was born.

This Key Lime Ice Cream is a 2 day process – but so worth it! I love the taste and texture. It stays creamy and easy to scoop, even after days in the freezer. I don’t particularly like rock solid ice cream that is hard to scoop and goes from impossible to eat in one minute to melted in the next.

On a side note, thank you Chef Tony from Big Wheel Truck & Big Wheel Provisions and Lake Meadow Naturals for making farm-fresh eggs available to the public! If you are in the Orlando, FL area, you can pick up fresh eggs from Big Wheel, Monday nights at the Audubon Park Community Market, or directly from the LMN Farm Store. Please check the Lake Meadow Naturals website for store hours and information.

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
a Love & Confections original recipe

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream Ingredients:
 – 350 grams Whole Milk
 – 120 grams Heavy Cream
 – 100 grams Egg Yolks
 – 140 grams Granulated Sugar
 – 200 grams prepared Key Lime Curd
 – 200 grams Sweetened Condensed Milk
 – 200 grams toasted & cooled Graham Cracker Crumbs

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream Directions:
Day 1 (Ice Cream Base)
 – Bring Milk and Heavy Cream to a slight simmer in a small sauce pan, careful not to boil it.
 – While Milk & Heavy Cream are heating, crack eggs into medium bowl (bowl needs to be big enough to contain the egg and milk/heavy cream mixture). Add Sugar and whisk together
 – Temper* the warm milk & cream into yolks
 – Return the whole mixture to the sauce pan and heat to around 105F or nappe**
 – Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
 – Once cooled, store in the fridge, with a lid, for up to 5 days.
 – Place ice cream attachment/bowl in the freezer at least 24 hours before churning

Day 2:
 – Whisk together the Ice Cream Base, Key Lime Curd and Sweetened Condensed Milk
 – Churn according to your ice cream maker manufacture instructions
 – Remove ice cream and fold in the toasted Graham Cracker Crumbs
 – Store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for no longer than a week (but I’m sure you will devour it before then)

* – Tempering (in this case with eggs) is increasing the temperature of a certain ingredient by gradually adding and constantly whisking a warm/hot item into it. Be careful not to add too much at one time and curdle/scramble the eggs.
** – Coat the back of a wooden spoon in the mixture and run a finger down the middle, if the mixture stays separated and doesn’t run, then you should be good. Be careful not to overcook it and curdle/scramble the eggs.

Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!