August 10, 2011

Creamy Lemonade Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Freckles {Powernap}

Lemon Ice Cream

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

This ice cream was an experiment based on a recipe idea my friend Kirsten and I exchanged on Facebook earlier this month. She shared that her friend loved to drink pink lemonade while eating dark chocolate and we both agreed this sounded good. The sweet-citrusy flavor pairing had the same appeal as a chocolate dipped fruit peel. (Have I ever mentioned that chocolate dipped orange peels are my absolute favorite gourmet candy?)

My mother has an ice cream maker, thank god, so while my daughter was napping earlier this week I decided give our idea try. I whipped up a creamy lemon ice cream and added dark chocolate chunks. The creamy mixture chilled during naptime and we churned it right before dinner.

As hoped, the creamy lemon ice cream had a bright, tangy citrus flavor that was nicely complimented by the dark chocolate freckles. I say freckles because I chopped the chocolate finely and stirred them into the cream at the last second. I didn’t want heavy dark chocolate chunks that were too overwhelming. We loved the taste of the ice cream once it had fully chilled. And, no, I didn’t take the extra step to dye the ice cream pink to look like pink lemonade because I didn’t think it was necessary. Now I have to send this recipe to Kirsten’s friend to try, it might just rival her favorite lemonade and chocolate dessert!

Recipe

Creamy Lemonade Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Freckles

adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients

2 lemons
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)
2 cups light cream
1 pinch salt
½ cup shaved dark chocolate

Instructions

1. Add the lemon zest from 2 lemons and sugar to a food processor and pulse until the lemon zest is very fine. Then add the lemon juice and blend until the sugar is completely dissolved.

2. Add in the cream and salt and pulse the food processor again until smooth. Pour the mixture into a small bowl and chill it in the refrigerator for at least one hours before churning.

3. After an hour, churn the ice cream according to manufacturer’s directions. In the last 2 minutes of churning pour in the dark chocolate shavings. Make sure they are stirred in well. Pour the chilled mixture into a container and freeze until solid. Serve and Enjoy!

Naptime Notes

Naptime Recipe Serving ideas

This chilly, tangy concoction needs to accompaniment except an ice cream cone!

Naptime Stopwatch

10 minutes prep time, plus chilling and churning time.

Naptime Reviews

A hit all around, this definitely had the same flavor as a chocolate dipped citrus peel!

 

3 Responses to “Creamy Lemonade Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Freckles {Powernap}”

  1. Shar says:

    That looks delicious!  I love cold treats in the summer and I can’t believe you did that with cream.

  2. This sounds so good! It would really hit the spot right about now… 🙂

  3. Marla says:

    Dark chocolate freckles? How cute, love the ice cream.