I have wonderful memories of eating fruit ice cream and sherbet growing up in France. One of the thing I loved was that they were often served in the fruit itself. One of my favorites was coconut ice cream served in a coconut shell. It felt so exotic at the time and was just beautiful! It was a feast for the eyes and the belly! I also enjoyed lemon ice cream served in a lemon shell. I love the idea of using the whole fruit instead of just the juice. Lemon ice cream is so refreshing, and the perfect way to end a meal. Fun fact, lemon sherbet is often served as a palate cleanser in fancy French restaurants.
One of the challenges with making non-dairy ice cream is to achieve a good creamy texture without the cream. Sure you can use full fat coconut milk but it leaves a little coconut taste behind and if you make a fruity ice cream it can over power it.
The good news is that there are other ways to create that creamy texture. You can use some rolled oats or even cornstarch. This is important when making citrus ice cream because lemon is acidic and you are not using any flesh or pulp. By combining a little starch, some cashew nuts, and some oatmeal you get a nice thick texture.
Making Lemon Cups
If like me, you hate wasting food, you will love using lemons or orange skin as a containers for your ice cream. All you need is to cut your organic lemons in half length wise then gently remove the inner sections using a spoon. Place in the freezer until you are ready to fill with the ice cream. This way, you will have them for later and if you need lemon zest and don’t have any fresh lemons, you can us the frozen ones!
Candied orange peels
This is optional but it makes a great addition to this ice cream. Every bite has a burst of orange or lemon oil adding another layer of flavor. Here is the recipe. It also uses extra lemon or orange peels that usually end up in the garbage or the compost pile and makes a great gift around the holidays!
TIPS
Want a richer and creamier ice cream? Just add a cup of full fat coconut milk.
Don’t want to use yellow food dye? You can infuse the non-dairy milk with a few strands of saffron.
Want to get a deeper lemon flavor? Double the zest and the lemon extract.
Make oranges and lemon shells whenever you are making juice and freeze them for later.
Vegan Lemon Ice Cream with Candied Orange Peels
Equipment
- Ice cream maker
- Blender
Ingredients
Lemon Ice Cream
- 1/2 cup orange or apple juice
- 3 cups raw cashews
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 3/4 cup granulated cane sugar
- 1 cup raw soaked cashews
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 3 drops yellow food color (optional)
- 1/2 cup finely diced candied lemon or orange peels
Lemon cups
- 2 organic lemons
Instructions
- Place the ice cream maker bowl in the freezer the day before.
Prepare the lemon shells
- Wash the lemons. Cut them in half and gently remove the flesh using a spoon.
- Put the shells in the freezer.
Make the ice cream
- Cover 1 cup of raw cashews with boiling water. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Heat up 1 cup of plain non-dairy milk (soy, almond), add 1/4 cup of rolled oats, 2 tsp of lemon zest.
- Simmer for 5-8 minutes until the oats are tender. Place into a bowl.
- In a blender add 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice, 2 cups of non-dairy milk, 1 cup of soaked cashews. Blend until smooth.
- Add 1/2 cup of lemon juice, 2 tbsp lemon zest, cooked oatmeal, 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 tsp lemon extract and yellow food color (if using).
- Add the finely chopped candied lemon or orange peels.
- Taste and add more sweetener if necessary.
- Refrigerate for an hour tp cooled it down.
- Pour into the ice cream maker bowl and churn until you get to a soft serve consistency.
- Scoop the ice cream into the lemon shells
- Place the bowl back into the freezer for 2 or more hours (or overnight)
- Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.
