Freshly made ice cream is a real treat, and this easy to make no churn lemon curd ice cream delivers great flavour and texture, from only four ingredients and even better, it doesn’t need an ice cream machine! A great vegetarian dessert!
Lemon Curd Ice Cream
Home made ice cream is so much nicer than ready made, but especially if you live in a smallish flat like ours, it’s not the most convenient thing to make. Self contained ice cream machines are large, noisy and expensive, while the sort with a bowl that needs to be frozen takes up much needed space in the freezer. And the traditional method of freezing it, taking it out to beat out the ice crystals, freezing it again and repeating until it’s solid is just too much hassle for anybody, even if they have all day free. For those of us who are looking for maximum returns from the limited time we have available, it’s a non-starter.
If only there was a way to make delicious home-made ice cream that didn’t need an ice cream maker. Well, there is. No churn ice cream uses a combination of sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream, and it really lives up to its billing. Because condensed milk is so sweet and sticky it won’t freeze solid in a domestic freezer, which gives this lemon curd no churn ice cream its silky texture ability to scoop straight from the freezer.
If you want / need ice cream NOW, then it’s sadly not going to satisfy that urge, but spending five minutes will give you lemon curd ice cream in about 6-8 hours time (overnight is perfect). A few moments in the evening and you’ll have an impressive homemade treat ready to share with friends the next day, or keep to yourself for a bit of personal indulgence. Serve with one or two of my homemade lemon biscuits.
You can make no churn ice cream in practically any flavour you can think of, but we’ve gone for lemon here, using home made lemon curd; we could have used our easy microwave lemon curd with gin. But don’t feel you have to go to that level of effort; pick up a tin of condensed milk, carton of whipping cream, pot of lemon curd and a lemon for the zest from the shops, and you’re ready to go. Here’s a video to show just how easy it is:
The longest job in this recipe is whipping the cream. If you have a stand mixer, it’s the perfect opportunity to use it, and prepare the rest of the ingredients as it whips. But even without one, using a electric whisk takes very little time, so it’s no excuse not to make this recipe.
How to rescue overwhipped cream?
Simple – Just pour in a little milk and gently fold in to loosen the cream to the texture you want. This method will also make a little cream go that bit further too.
Left over condensed milk can be poured into a tub and stored in the freezer – as I said above it won’t freeze solid so make sure the tub is leak proof and stored upright. You do not want the contents of your freezer coated in a semi solid sticky layer of condensed milk. Oh no. Been there. Done that. The best solution is to make another batch of no churn ice cream straight away or eat the frozen condensed milk with a spoon straight from the tub. Been there, done that too.
No Churn Lemon Curd Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup condensed milk (150 ml)
- 1/4 cup lemon curd (4 tbsp)
- 1 1/3 cup double/heavy cream (300 ml)
- 1 zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer whip the cream until it holds a peak, but is still soft – if you over whip it, add some milk to soften it.
- Fold condensed milk, lemon curd and lemon zest into the whipped cream until well mixed.
- Dollop into a freezerproof container, cover and freeze for 12 hours.
Notes
- Spare condensed milk can be frozen, ready for your next batch.
- This recipe is 12 Weight Watchers Smart Points per portion
If you love lemon desserts you may also like our easy lemon posset recipe – only three ingredients! Or, if it’s ice cream that you’re after, then make my no-churn fudge ice cream.
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Sophie
I love anything lemon but never thought of lemon ice -cream before. It sounds so refreshing and summery! Great recipe.
Helen
I love lemon ice cream – so delicious for the summer.
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
I adore how simple this is to make and doesn’t need babysitting, so to speak. Lemon flavours are so refreshing in the summer too.
Helen
nothing worse than recipes that constantly need attention.
Janice
I absolutely love lemon card and this looks like such a lovely easy way to make it into a luscious dessert.
Helen
So quick and easy.
Helen
Will icecream be any better using a ice cream maker or isnt it worth bothering.
Helen
Using a custard base gives a more traditional type of ice cream, but the no churn method is very effective if you don’t have a machine, or want to make it quickly.
Kitty Morris
oh my gosh thank you for this recipe, I absolutely love lemon curd and this sounds so good!
Helen
Lemon is the perfect flavour for summer.
Lubka Henry
With the summer coming, I’ve got incredible ice cream craving. Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe :)
Helen
Summer is the perfect excuse (if you need one) to enjoy icecream.
Ana De- Jesus
Oh my god yes, I love lemon curd and I love ice cream so this sounds like the perfect situation to me!
Helen
Lemon flavour icecream is so refreshing.
Cassandra Mayers
What a brilliant recipe for summer. Lemon is my fav!
Helen
With the warmer weather, icecream is the perfect treat.
Kirsty
This sounds so easy to make! I love the sound of the lemo in the ice cream as it would be super refreshing and perfect for the warm weather
Helen
A really delicious summer dessert.
Becca Talbot
I love homemade ice cream but it takes such a longgggg time to make :( this recipe sounds good though, probably quite tangy and refreshing! May have to give it a go once I’m in my own place again x
Helen
This is so easy to make! Very little hands on time, although you do have to wait.
Kara
This looks delicious and I bet it is so refreshing in this heqt
Helen
so refreshing. It is odd as I nearly always choose chocolate puddings, but actually far prefer tart fruity ones.
Lesley
Just put this in freezer, and the index finger taste test tells me it will be amazing.
I will also try it with Orange Curd and Ginger Curd, and any other curds I can find!
Thank you, this was inspirational…..
Helen
I think in this weather all the flavours of curd need to be tried out.
Jagruti
This ice cream is easy to prepare and looks delicious, refreshing flavours!
Helen
Very easy to make, and so very refreshing in this warm weather.
Shumaila
Helen, this sounds amazing- love the fresh flavor of lemon in it. I agree whipped cream and condensed milk work wonders in homemade ice cream.
Helen
The consistancy is just right and having the no churn method makes it so much easier.
Sarah
Lemon curd is one of my favorite treats so this ice cream has me sold! Also loving the video…so helpful!
Helen
The flavour of the lemon curd gives that lovely refreshing taste.
Low Carb with Jennifer
I love no churn ice cream! I especially love your tip for saving over whipped cream. I had never heard that before!
Helen
No churn icecream is so easy, got to love it.
Camilla
As you probably know I love lemon curd so this ice cream is totally up my street! Loving the over whipped cream tip too. I remember a very stern and horrid HE teacher shouting across the kitchen “Camilla, you’re not over whipping your cream are you/” which I promptly did! Thankfully she left not long after!
Helen
All to easy to over whip your cream, but easy to correct too.
Julia @ Happy Foods Tube
Lemon curd ice cream has been on my To Do list like forever! :) I like your version with condensed milk in it! Perfect!
Helen
An easy to make recipe, hopefully you’ll get to make it soon.
Ashleigh
I love anything that is lemon flavoured, so think I will have to try this one!
Helen
I love lemon puddings especially in the summer!
Sabrina
I made this ice cream and it was soooo good. The consistency was amazing and it tasted better than shop bought ice cream. I made some changes to the receipe though. I used a whole jar of lemon curd and i used 600 ml of double cream and 300 ml of condesned milk. I also squeezed half a lemon into the mixture. This filled up a 1.5 litre tub of ice cream.
The texture was soooo creamy it was great. The ice cream was very filling too!
I am going to use this receipe again but going to use raspberry jam instead to make a raspberry ice cream!!
Helen
That sounds delicious, and great to be generous on the lemon curd