Lemon Biscoff Ice Cream is a smooth, creamy lemon cream base filled with crumbled biscoff cookies and bourbon vanilla.
Lemon Biscoff Ice Cream
We visited a local gelateria a few weeks ago and I decided to step out of my flavor comfort zone (coffee, chocolate, vanilla are my usual go-tos), and try something new that caught my eye. It was a lemon and biscoff gelato. I sampled it and was immediately sold! We ordered a couple scoops and I devoured the entire thing in about 2 minutes. Thank you, pregnancy hormones!!
I was so surprised at how much I loved this gelato that I had to go home try my hand at making it myself. I certainly don’t have a gelato machine of my own, but I do have an ice cream machine – and one that I love. So instead of making gelato, I decided to try an ice cream twist on this delectable dessert. Enter this lemon ice cream recipe.
What’s the difference between gelato and ice cream?
I used to think there was no difference at all – probably because we don’t have a lot of gelaterias here in the states. But I think everyone who’s visited Italy can agree – there’s something different about gelato. And it’s not just that you’re in Italy and living your best life holding a giant cone of sweetness in your hand as you take in the scenery. The texture, flavor, and whole appearance of it is different!
Although the word “gelato” is Italian for “ice cream,” there are still some jarring differences between the 2 desserts. For one, gelato is usually made with no eggs at all. It also has a higher milk protein percentage – so it’s more milk than cream, with little to no eggs. Ice cream is the opposite. If it’s a custard base (like most of my favorites are), it contains eggs and has a higher proportion of cream than milk. This makes it simpler to churn in home kitchens – which is why you don’t see as many homemade gelato recipes as you do homemade ice cream recipes.
Gelato is also churned at a much slower speed than ice cream is. This means you must have a special, and quite expensive, machine that can handle the job. This results in a frozen dessert that’s more dense than your typical ice cream which has a lot of air incorporated into it.
What is Lemon Biscoff Ice Cream?
For this lemon ice cream I decided to go with a smooth custard base. Not to hate on traditional American-style ice creams, but I truly believe that something magical happens when you add eggs to your ice cream. It lends to the most creamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture, and I wouldn’t do it any other way!
This method for this lemon ice cream recipe is similar to the method I used for this Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream. We start by making our base, infuse it with lemon zest and some lemon juice. Add a little bit of vanilla and salt, then churn it in our ice cream machine where we’ll then add our crumbled biscoff cookies.
A word on biscoff: I will always and forever celebrate a flight where I receive these tightly wrapped bundles of joy in a cookie. Biscoff + anything in my book is a major win! I really need to add more biscoff recipes to the blog – and rest assured there will be more coming this fall!
Equipment you may need…
- Ice cream machine: you’ll need some sort of ice cream churning machine for this recipe. I have this one and it does a great job – you don’t even need any ice cream salt or ice.
- Saucepan: this is the cookware I use at home, and the small saucepan that comes in this set is perfect for this recipe.
- Measuring cups/spoons: I’ve been linking these in all of my posts because I love them SO much! They are beautiful and look just like some other expensive ones on the market (but wayyy cheaper).
- Mixing bowls: I love these glass mixing bowls from Amazon. They’re especially perfect for food photography.
- Wooden spoon: I use these for doing the “spoon test” on custards, I suggest you do the same!
Ingredients for Lemon Biscoff Ice Cream
- Heavy cream – will be the majority of our base in this lemon ice cream recipe
- Evaporated milk – I think using evaporated milk instead of regular whole milk lends to an even smoother consistency. You’re welcome to swap with whole milk, though, if that’s all you have!
- Granulated sugar – hello sweetness!
- Egg yolks – the most important addition, and what makes this a true custard. Using egg yolks will help create that creamy texture we’re looking for!
- Lemon juice – we’ll use the zest and the juice here in this lemon ice cream!
- Lemon zest – the zest is where all the oils lie in a lemon. Each strand packs a huge lemon flavored punch – so we’re using a lot of it for this homemade lemon ice cream recipe.
- Pure vanilla extract – I think the combination of vanilla and lemon is a beautiful one 🙂
- Biscoff cookies – of course.
My Kitchen Tips
- Don’t forget the lemon zest. This homemade lemon ice cream needs 1 thing: lemon. And lot’s of it! That’s why we’re using both the zest and the juice from our lemons. You may be surprised but lemon zest actually packs more of a lemon punch than the juice does. The oils that are found in the rind of a lemon carry SO much lemon flavor, so we make sure to use a lot of it in this homemade lemon ice cream.
- Cook your custard to 160°F. I’ll describe in the method below how to tell when a custard is done cooking and ready to be removed from the heat, but this is also a great way to tell too. I always have a thermometer nearby when making custard so I can ensure I get it just right.
- Do NOT overchurn your ice cream. Ah yes, my arch nemesis. I hope I’m not the only one this happens to, but honestly it has happened a few too many times in my kitchen. You wouldn’t think that you could overchurn a batch of ice cream. But you’ll quickly realize that when you do, an oily film forms in your mouth after you’ve taken a bite. Not ideal. I’ve found that the instructions on the machine’s manufacturer’s manual usually take things a little bit too far. To mitigate this, I start checking my ice cream after about 10 minutes. You’re looking for the texture of soft serve ice cream – that’s when you know it’s finished. If you go too far you’ll end up with that unpleasant mouthfeel that no one wants!
- If your custard splits… If you notice when you pour the custard through the sieve that there’s still large chunks of solid bits, the custard may have split. Don’t worry though, it’s an easy fix. Just pour the whole thing into a blender (or use an immersion blender) and pulse, very gently, only a few times until it smooths out again. If you blend for too long you’ll ruin the custard.
How to store…
I like to keep my ice cream in the freezer (duh) lol. And I love these containers used just for all those delicious homemade batches of ice cream you’re going to make this summer. 
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I hope you all love this recipe as much as I do. This was a fun one to work on and hopefully it makes each of you fall in love with homemade lemon ice cream.
Love,
Sarah
Feel free to always reach out to me via email (sarah@sarahsdayoff.com), through my Instagram DMs (@sarahsday0ff), or by leaving a comment on one of these posts. I’m happy to answer any questions I can!
“Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.” -James 5:13-
Lemon Biscoff Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 (12-oz) can evaporated milk
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- Scant pinch of kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 10 plain biscoff cookies coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Whisk egg yolks in a large heat-proof bowl. Set aside. Grab a separate mixing bowl and set a large wire-mesh sieve over it; set that one aside too.
- Combine the cream, milk, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt in a large saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes or until it begins to simmer.
- Remove from heat and bring the saucepan near your egg yolks. You're going to temper the eggs, meaning you'll gently warm them up before adding them to the saucepan. So while whisking the egg yolks constantly, slowly pour about 1/3 of the cream mixture into the eggs, then pour the eggs and cream back into the saucepan with the remaining cream. Do all of this while whisking constantly so the eggs don't begin to cook.
- Set the mixture back over the heat on medium-low. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the temperature reaches 160°F or until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Pour the hot custard through the sieve and into the mixing bowl you set out. This will remove the lemon zest and any solid bits that may have formed. If you want the zest to remain in the ice cream, don't pour it through a sieve. Stir in vanilla.
- Cover the custard with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly on the surface of the custard so a skin doesn't form on the top. Chill at least 4 hours.
- Pour the cold custard into an ice cream machine, and churn based on the manufacturer's instructions. Add the biscoff cookies during the last 5 minutes of churning. Transfer ice cream to a container and freeze for at least 4 hours before scooping and serving.
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So good!