Want a truly delicious and tangy low carb lemon ice cream? Look no further than this delicious Lemon Curd Ice Cream recipe. All the great lemon flavor without the carbs. Sugar-free and keto-friendly.
This lemon ice cream recipe has been updated to be easier and better than ever! And I have a few tricks for keeping it soft and scoopable, even days later.
There’s no question that I get obsessed with certain foods from time to time. I like to say that it’s an occupational hazard of being a food blogger who really does dream about food all day. Like a catchy tune, sometimes a flavor or a food item will just get stuck on replay in my head, going around and around until I have to find a new way to use it. Lemon curd has been the tune I’m singing of late, ever since I made some for an Easter brunch with friends. It’s so sweet and tangy, and so…so…lemony, it just screams spring. But here in New England, we skipped over spring entirely and went straight into summer. So my head has also been playing the tune of ice cream and other frozen treats. It wasn’t much of a leap to combine the two and churn up some low carb Lemon Curd Ice Cream.
I’ve seen lemon ice cream made with lemon curd before on other blogs and food sites, and it was pretty easy to figure out how it should be made. Lemon curd takes a lot of eggs as it is, so I knew it wouldn’t be necessary to add more to create a custard-based ice cream. I also really wanted the tang of the lemon curd to come through and not get swallowed up by the cream and the sweetener. I’ve seen some recipes that add a lot more sugar after adding the curd, which is plenty sweet in my opinion. But I kept my additional sweetener to a minimum, to allow for a tangy, creamy frozen treat.
How To Make Lemon Ice Cream
- This recipe now uses my updated low carb lemon curd. And I have to say, it’s all the better for it. The new lemon curd uses whole eggs, so you won’t have any lonely and unused egg whites hanging around.
- Be sure to cook your lemon curd in a glass or ceramic bowl. I find that metal bowls react a bit with the lemon juice to leave a funny metallic tang.
- If you’ve ever made lemon curd before, you know that it’s about getting the eggs and yolks to just the right temperature so that they are cooked through. It will thicken up quickly and suddenly, so make sure you keep your eyes on it at all times!
- Let the curd cool in the fridge before mixing with the whipping cream. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap so it doesn’t develop a skin.
- Once your curd is nicely chilled, you just need to mix in the other ingredients and plop it into your ice cream maker!
Keeping Low Carb Ice Cream Soft
Okay guys, I have been messing around with ice cream lot this summer, trying to figure out the trick to keeping it soft. And I’ve found that my best trick is to use a combo of Swerve Sweetener and Bocha Sweet. Bocha Sweet is a sweetener derived from the kabocha squash, and it’s a pentose sweetener. Xylitol is also a pentose sweetener, so it appears to be similar to that although it’s not toxic to animals according to the website.
I would love to tell you that I am sold on Bocha Sweet as the perfect low carb sweetener. But I am not entirely. So far, it does not seem to affect my blood sugar that much and I have several diabetic readers who’ve recommended it to me and say it works for them. But for some people it can cause some severe stomach upset (at least according to the Amazon reviews!) and while I haven’t experienced that, I am reluctant to try it full strength. It’s also quite expensive – even more so than other low carb sweeteners.
It’s also not a perfect sugar replacement. I tried using it in some low carb meringues and they were a disaster! They never firmed up at all, staying sticky and gooey.
However, I am finding it useful in keeping keto ice cream scoopable and soft. I made one batch of vanilla with just Bocha Sweet and to be honest, it was almost TOO soft and slightly goopy. So then I tried a batch that was half Swerve and half Bocha Sweet and it was firmer but not rock hard. I am still playing with the ratios here but I think a 50/50 or even a 60/40 (in favour of the Bocha Sweet) seems to work well.
So for this keto lemon curd ice cream, I recommend one of two things. Either make your lemon curd with Bocha Sweet and then add some powdered Swerve when you add the whipping cream. Or vice versa: make your lemon curd with Swerve and then add Bocha Sweet as the additional sweetener. The first option will probably give you the softest results.
If you don’t have Bocha Sweet or prefer not to use it, your ice cream will freeze pretty hard but it will soften nicely with a few minutes on the counter. The added vodka can really help.
Want more delicious low carb lemon recipes?
Low Carb Lemon Curd Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup Bocha Sweet, or powdered Swerve Sweetener
- Full recipe Lemon Curd, chilled
- 2 tbsp vodka, optional (helps decrease iciness)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together whipping cream, Bocha Sweet or powdered Swerve, and lemon curd until well combined. Whisk in the vodka, if using.
- Pour mixture into canister of an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, 2 to 3 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Wow!!! This ice cream was absolutely delicious!! I used Meyer lemons (which are sweeter than regular lemons) and added a little extra joice to the ice cream custard. I used xylitol for the lemon curd and for the ice cream custard. I gently heated 1/3 cup of the cream with the xylitol so that it would dissolve. I also used a little xantham gum to make it soft. This is one of the best ice creams I have ever had. Thanks!!
I’m nothing close to a baker, so you tell me how much “a little xanthan gum” is, in teaspoons/grams?
That was absolutely delicious! Thank you for another hit recipe! You’re amazing!
How about adding some glycerine . I think you mentioned that some time ago. I have a bottle waiting in my pantry !
You can certainly try that. My biggest issue with glycerin is that there is little to no info on the nutritional values so I am not sure what to tell my readers. Also I do find that it can spike my blood sugar and I didn’t find it all that useful in keeping the ice cream that soft unless I used a fair bit of it.
I’ve used ‘Just Like Sugar’ for 1/3 to half the sweetener and this will keep your ice cream soft. In fact, if you use too much it will stay like soft serve and never harden. Another trick I learned from the Keto Diet App website is to use 2-4 tablespoons of food grade vegetable Glycerine blended into the ice cream. This also keeps it scoopable, however too much will keep it like soft serve. I’ve never tried Vodka though and I don’t know what impact Glycerine might have on sensitive digestive systems. I’ve never found a carb count for it, for some reason it’s not listed anywhere that I can find.
Using this amount of Glycerine will add 30-60 grams of carbohydrates to the entire batch. If you can stick to the 10 servings per batch listed above, then this is not so bad. I like my ice cream, so… I should probably keep looking for another softening agent.
https://ketodietapp.com/data/ingredient/690
I have an ice cream recipe book that uses Konjac Root powder (Glucomannan) to keep the ice cream soft. The ice cream
doesn’t become “brick hard”.
Your lemon curd ice cream sounds delicious.
Thank you for all the wonderful recipes you have brought into my low carb lifestyle.
I had already whipped up a batch of keto lemon curd when I found this recipe plus I doubled it! So how much lemon curd does your recipe make, so I can add the correct amount to the ice cream?
BTW, I love your recipes and recommend your blog to everyone who asks me about keto. I especially love that you use the less costly coconut flour a lot! I really like the texture it adds to almond flour heavy recipes.
It makes about 1 1/2 cups
The Recipe says, 3 eggs and 3 egg yokes, is that 6 eggs but only 3 egg whites, or does it mean just only 3 eggs and separating the eggs and egg whits and then mixing them back together?
How long does it take to harden?, My batch has been in the freezer a few hours and is Still liquid
If you churned it properly, it should not be liquid when you put it in the freezer.
Hey Carolyn, I’ve made this several times now. Works like a charm. But every time I forget to measure how much 1 batch makes. Do you happen to remember off the top of your head? Thanks.
No, I don’t know exactly.
We tried this recipe, but the whole family commented that it was too much butter. 6 Tablespoons does seem like a lot. Would it be ok to omit butter? I’d like to try this again with some tweaks. The recipe did work great with granulated Stevia!
Lemon curd doesn’t work without butter.
Mmm, delicious. I used Meyer lemons. I did add a bit of lemon oil to the custard and a little vodka before freezing. I addd a tablespoon, and it is taking a bit to freeze, so hopefully that wasn’t too much. It tastes great though. I want to make some lemon shortbread cookies to add in.
This looks so yummilicious! Would honey or agave work as a sugar substitute? For curd and/or ice cream recipes…
I don’t use either of those but you could probably do a google search and get some good advice.
This was absolutely delicious!! I used organic honey and also added a raspberry swirl. My daughter and I tasted it after churning and could barely wait for it to freeze! Not to mention it made the kitchen smell yummy, as well. Thank you for a great recipe!
This ice cream is AMAZING. My first try at low carb ice cream – well – any ice cream. It will be difficult for other recipes to live up to the creamy deliciousness of this. Thank you!
Made this yesterday. OMG, soooooo delicious. Lemon is one of my favorite flavors. Thanks for the recipe!
This is maybe the most delicious low carb dessert I’ve ever had. Thank you so so much!
I have made this several times now and love it. I had lines I needed to use and did line curd then used coconut milk for part of the cream and added shredded unsweetened coconut at the end. You know, you put the lime in the coconut! Delicious! Plus so many ways to use the curd. That alone is amazing. Thank you.