Key Lime Ice Cream!
A few weeks ago, I bought myself a new toy! For several summers, I've wanted one of these, considered the options, and then let the summer give way to fall without pulling the trigger. This summer - boom - ICE CREAM MAKER!
Thanks to Amazon reviewers' glowing recommendations, I chose a 2-quart Cuisinart, and am absolutely loving it. No post-purchase dissonance/buyer's remorse here. (See how that marketing degree comes in handy?)
So far, I've made a ridiculously decadent chocolate ice cream (recipe here), a refreshingly delicious watermelon sorbet (recipe here), and this amazing Key lime ice cream. This recipe is adapted from a lemon ice cream recipe I found on AllRecipes.com, which makes it semi-original, and so I share it here. If you like Key lime pie and you like ice cream, you will love this!
Key Lime Ice Cream
2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 c. half-and-half
1 1/8 c. white sugar
3 T. Key lime (or lime) zest*
5 egg yolks
3/4 c. Key lime juice*
1. Combine heavy cream, half-and-half, sugar, and zest in a saucepan; bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and allow mixture to steep for 10 minutes.
2. Uncover pan and bring back to a simmer over low heat. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl. Gradually stir one cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, several tablespoons at a time, to temper the eggs. Stir the egg mixture into the cream mixture in the saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until the mixture just coats the back of a spoon, 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate until completely chilled.
3. Stir Key lime juice into the cold cream mixture. Pour through a sieve (to filter out any bits of egg and zest) into a 2-quart or larger ice cream maker, following manufacturer's directions.
4. Transfer to a lidded container and freeze for 4 to 5 hours to ripen flavors before serving. Or eat immediately, realizing it'll be even better tomorrow.
* Key Limes! Maybe it's because of my daddy's Miami roots that I have a personal pet peeve: If it's not made with Key Lime Juice, it's not Key Lime Pie. Or in this case, Key Lime Ice Cream. Key limes are grown in and near the Florida Keys. Get it? Key lime pie!
Key limes are smaller, rounder, and yellower than regular limes, and they do not taste the same as regular limes, either. We had a sweet old lady neighbor in Oklahoma, and I was so excited one day when she offered to bring over some "Key Lime Pie." To say I was rather disappointed when she arrived with something made from lime Jell-O would be an understatement - appreciative, but disappointed.
Key limes are hard to find, though, and when you do, it's a pain in the hand to juice enough of them for a pie. (Think of milking a cat.) I hear that a garlic press is useful for this (juicing Key limes, not milking cats), or you can go to the grocery store and look for Nellie and Joe's Famous Key West Lime Juice. You may find it with the juices in your local grocery store or even with drink mixes in some liquor stores.
I couldn't find any Key limes for my ice cream, and so I used some regular lime zest to kick this one up a notch, along with my bottled Nellie & Joe's. I only used the zest from one lime - not the 3 T. that are called for - and it was still amazing.
Grab a spoon and enjoy!
-Susanna
