This is a recipe that JP, our production manager, came up with. What makes this ice cream so good is that combination of zest and preserves. We love any kind of citrus zest in cooking – it’s brilliant and fresh and can lift almost anything. The preserves add a richness and fullness that can’t be found with just lemon juice and zest. If you didn’t know what you were tasting, you would recognise lemon straightaway, but there might be some difficulty in placing the earthy undertones that makes this ice cream so distinctive. It’s far more complex than any lemon ice cream we have ever come across, and has regular appearances in our scooping cabinet.

Ingredients 

- 130g sugar
- 5 egg yolks
- 240ml cream
- 200ml milk
- 50g lemon curd
- Zest (grated peel) of one lemon
15ml (1 tablespoon) lemon juice

What to do 

1. Beat in the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar until thick and pale yellow.
2. Bring the milk to a low simmer.
3. Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream.
4. Pour the mixture back into the pan and place over low heat.
5. Stir continuously until the custard thickens slightly (around 65-70C) and just coats the back of a spoon. Don't over heat, though, because at around 76C you will scramble the eggs!
6. Immediately remove from the heat.
7. Add the lemon curd to the warm custard, stirring until it is dissolved.
8. Add the lemon zest.
9. Cover the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool overnight.
10. Strain the lemon zest from the cool custard (unless you like it in there).
11. Whip the cream until it has doubled in volume ( you should have soft peaks - don't over whip).
12. Fold the cream (gently stir) into the custard.
13. Add the lemon juice.
14. Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, transfer to a freezer-proof covered container when the ice cream has achieved a semi solid consistency (around 15 minutes). Place it in the freezer, and continue to freeze until it is solid.

Note.

- To pasteurise the eggs, heat the custard to 73C and maintain that temperature for at least 5 minutes. Using a cooking thermometer, though! If the custard goes any higher than 76C, the eggs will scramble. Immediately cover and place in the freezer until cool.

Tips from the kitchen

- Make sure you add the lemon curd while the custard is warm, or you might have some trouble getting it to dissolve fully.