Nothing says “Hello, Summer” like Citrus Breeze Ice Cream.
Confession: I’ve wanted to do an ice cream riff on the ever-popular Man Catcher Cake for awhile; its subtle hints of orange, lemon, and vanilla make everyone scrape their dessert plates and ask for seconds.
One day, I decided that the cake flavors would be fantastic in frozen dessert form. (Spoiler: I was right).
However, I didn’t have a book to pair with this culinary brain child, so the idea for “Man Catcher Ice Cream” just kinda sat around for a bit.
Until I started reading Hello, Summer and realized fate had dropped the perfect opportunity in my lap. The novel is set in Florida — a.k.a., land of abundant citrus — and once a character started talking about an orange pound cake, I knew my time for a book-inspired recipe had come.
Not to mention, ice cream is the quintessential summertime treat.
Sure, you can have it any time of year, but there’s something special about eating it on a scorching hot day – ironically, when it has the best chance of melting into puddle in .02 seconds – that makes it taste the best.
I’m not a huge citrus fan, but I ADORE citrus-flavored ice cream. And, I’m talking real ice cream here, not its bastard cousin, sherbet. (Don’t even get me started on sorbet. *shudders*)
There are plenty of orange and lemon and lime icy treats, but have you ever found those flavors in luscious, decadent, made-with heavy-cream-and-eggs ice cream?
NOPE. Well, mostly nope. Let’s just say the offerings are far and few between.
Fortunately, Citrus Breeze Ice Cream combines all those lovely, hard-to-find citrus flavors into one creamy, dreamy dessert.
This frozen treat is brimming with summertime flavor, thanks to the orange, lemon, and lime zest dumped right into the custard base. The taste is bright and happy, yet still surprisingly mellow.
While many ice-based citrus desserts can be oversugared and acidic, Citrus Breeze Ice Cream balances the perfect blend of sweet and tart.
First you taste a little bit of orange, then the lemon weaves its way in, followed by the lime. At the very end of each bite is a hint of vanilla, giving you a slight Creamsicle vibe. It’s like a tempered burst of sunshine in your mouth.
Even the texture of Citrus Breeze Ice Cream is a lil’ somethin’ special. Since you don’t strain this ice cream base before you churn it, nubby bits of bright orange, yellow, and lime zest fleck each smooth scoop.
I’ve said before that making your own ice cream is super easy, and this recipe is no exception. If you’ve made my mint chocolate chip or cinnamon chocolate marshmallow ice cream before, you’ll find the recipe for Citrus Breeze Ice Cream reassuringly familiar.
The only difference with this recipe is that you want to simmer the cream over LOW heat to avoid any scalding. Just follow my excessively detailed but foolproof instructions, and you’ll have ice cream success!
So, if you’re like me — craving ice cream but too afraid to go out and buy it, and pretty sure it’ll arrive completely melted if delivered by Instacart (TRUTH) — head into the kitchen and whip up your own batch of refreshing Citrus Breeze Ice Cream. It’s the perfect cool-down treat on a hot summer day!
Citrus Breeze Ice Cream
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS FOR DAY 1 (MAKING THE BASE)
- 5 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, DIVIDED
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 lemons, zested
- 2 oranges, zested
- 1 lime, zested
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
UTENSILS YOU’LL NEED – DAY 1 (MAKING THE BASE)
- one large, heatproof bowl with a pouring spout (Batter Bowl #1)
- one medium heatproof bowl with a pouring spout (Batter Bowl #2)
- 2 large whisks
- one soup ladle
- one medium saucepan with handle
- one large bowl to fill with ice and water; Batter Bowl #2 should be able to rest inside this bowl without being full immersed in the water
- one rubber spatula
- 12 ice cubes
- 3 potholders or trivets (Potholders #1, #2, and #3)
- one ice cream freezer bowl
UTENSILS YOU’LL NEED – DAY 2 (CHURNING THE ICE CREAM)
- Ice Cream Maker
- one freezer-safe container that can hold 1 quart of ice cream
- Aluminum foil
- one large hard spatula for scraping down the ice cream from the freezer bowl
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS – DAY 1 (MAKING THE BASE)
- Put Potholder #1 on the countertop. Place Batter Bowl #1 on top of Potholder #1.
- Put Potholder #2 on the countertop immediately next to Potholder #1.
- Place Bowl #2 on Placeholder #3 a little further away from Potholder #1 and #2.
- Zest the oranges, lemons, and lime. Set aside the zest and store the remaining fruit in an air-tight container in the fridge for another use (you don’t need them for the recipe.)
- Place your ice cubes into the Ice Water Bowl and fill halfway with very cold water. Set aside in a cool place.
- Place your ice cream freezer bowl into the freezer for Day 2.
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS – DAY 1 (MAKING THE BASE)
- In Batter Bowl #1, whisk together the eggs yolks and 6 tbsp of the granulated sugar until thick and slightly foamy, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
- In the saucepan, whisk together the remaining 6 tbsp sugar and orange, lemon, and lime zests until incorporated. Then whisk in milk, cream, and salt. The mixture will be slightly thick from the cream.
- Place the saucepan over medium-low/low heat and warm the mixture up until it’s just starting to simmer; this means tiny bubbles should just start appearing around the edges of the saucepan. The mixture will de-thicken right before it begins to simmer. This process will take about 10-15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and remove the saucepan from stove to Potholder #2, next to Batter Bowl #1 containing the egg yolks.
- Use the soup ladle to carefully scoop out some hot liquid from the saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks to break them up a bit, then slowly stream the hot liquid into the egg yolks, whisking briskly the entire time to prevent the egg yolks from curdling. Once the first scoop is thoroughly whisked in, repeat process two more times, whisking the entire time to prevent the egg yolks from curdling.
- Pour the egg yolk mixture from Batter Bowl #1 into the saucepan, once again whisking the entire time. All ingredients should now be in the saucepan.
- Return the saucepan to the stove on medium-low/low heat. While continuously stirring with a rubber spatula, heat the mixture until it thickens and thickly coats the back of the spatula, about 8-10 minutes. When it’s ready, you should be able to create a clear trail when you run your finger on the back of the spatula.
- Carefully pour the hot liquid (ice cream base) into Batter Bowl #2, which is placed on Potholder #3.
- Whisk the vanilla extract into the ice cream base to incorporate.
- Place Batter Bowl #2 gently into Ice Water Bowl, making sure that the bottom of Batter Bowl #2 touches the ice water but does not allow any ice water to get into the Batter Bowl.
- Stir ice cream base in Batter Bowl #2 occasionally until the base has cooled, about 40 minutes.
- Once ice cream base is cooled, cover Batter Bowl #2 with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
PREP INSTRUCTIONS – Day 2 (CHURNING THE ICE CREAM)
- Spread aluminum foil down on your countertop– this makes clean up a lot easier later on!
- Place ice cream maker and hard spatula on countertop
- Pop your freezer-safe ice cream quart container into the freezer to chill.
CHURNING INSTRUCTIONS – DAY 2 (CHURNING THE ICE CREAM)
- Remove Batter Bowl #2 containing ice cream base from refrigerator.
- Remove freezer bowl from freezer and fit into the base of your ice cream maker.
- Pour the base into the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Once ice cream is done churning, remove quart container from freezer and use the spatula to guide ice cream into the container. Freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.
