Sometimes in life, you encounter people with bad opinions. Like that mushrooms are a nice thing to eat. Or that there is a college basketball team worth rooting for other than Syracuse. Truly bananas stuff! What a wild world we live in.
Another example of a Very Bad Opinion is that ice cream is a summer thing.
LOL, please.
Ice cream is an any season, any day thing, and anybody who says otherwise is just plain wrong. Don’t let them rain on your frozen dessert parade, bbs! You just come sit by me and we’ll have a scoop together.
Lately my boyfriend has been on a real cornbread kick (ugh, I know, life is just SO HARD sometimes), and that has meant an abundance of leftover buttermilk in our fridge. Pancakes have of course happened– we are human, after all– but there were still a few cups of buttermilk left. So what choice did I have but to make ice cream with the remainder, weather be damned?
Turns out buttermilk makes for a pretty spectacular ice cream, and all the more so when you add some lemon and chunks of shortbread. It may be the end of January and a little bit miserable outside, but it’s hard to care when you’re inside with a bowl of this bright, tangy, creamy good stuff right in front of your face. If you are sifting through pros and cons trying to decide whether an ice cream maker is a worthwhile purchase (what better time to be making this case than right after the holidays?), I’d humbly submit this recipe in the “VERY MUCH YES” column.
Lemon Buttermilk Shortbread Ice Cream
Makes approx. 1 quart
- 2 c. Heavy Cream
- 2 Lemons, zested and juiced, divided
- 1 1/4 c. Sugar, divided
- 7 Egg yolks
- 2 c. Buttermilk
- 2 t. Vanilla
- 1 pinch of Salt
- 1 batch of your favorite Shortbread recipe (optional)
Combine cream, lemon zest, and 1 c. sugar in a pot and bring to a simmer. In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining sugar and egg yolks. Temper eggs by whisking in a small amount of hot cream mixture (to make sure the eggs don’t scramble!); continue adding cream mixture, whisking the entire time, until you’ve poured about half of it in. Return pot to stovetop over low heat and stir in tempered egg mixture. Stir constantly until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon or 170 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl and stir in buttermilk, vanilla, salt, and lemon juice. Chill in the fridge either overnight or to 40 degrees. Churn in ice cream machine according to directions. If including shortbread, break into small pieces and add to ice cream machine 1-2 minutes before churning is complete.
Law and Lentils 