Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

Are you ready for St. Patrick’s Day? It’s coming up this Sunday, March 17th. What to wear? Something green, of course. What to cook? Now that is a real question. There are all kinds of Irish and green foods to choose from. There is American Irish Soda Bread which would be great for breakfast. That leaves figuring out what to make for snacks, lunch, dinner, and dessert. How does Key Lime Pie Ice Cream sound? Pretty good if you ask me.

I spotted key limes at the grocery store. It is the first time I’ve seen them there. I had to go to an International Farmer’s Market to get them before. Even then it was hit or miss. I’m so glad there are more of those fruits available; like meyer lemons and blood oranges. Anyway, as soon as I saw the key limes I craved a pie. The craving turned to ice cream and so a recipe search began.

My key lime pie ice cream recipe search wasn’t so successful. There were lots with the ingredients of lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, and cream – but no egg yolks. I wanted my ice cream to be as much like the traditional pie recipe as possible. I decided to adapt my vanilla bean ice cream for it. Because of the egg yolks, a little cooking is involved to be more food safe. The result is a sweet/tart ice cream that tastes just like the pie. I serve it with graham crackers to complete the experience. My husband put the ice cream between graham crackers to make an ice cream sandwich. Great idea! (Now why didn’t I take a photo of that??)

How about more recipes for St. Patrick’s Day? I was asked to participate in an event hosted by Jen of Jen’s Favorite Cookies. It’s an honor to be a part of this fun and tasty celebration. There are 14 blogs participating and sharing St. Pat’s recipes. Take a look at the scrumptious line-up:

Here is the list of recipes:

1. Key Lime Pound Cake by Joan at Chocolate, Chocolate and More
2. Mini Banoffee Pie Tarts by Kelly at Kelly Bakes
3. Chocolate Bailey’s Mousse Tart by Nancy at Gotta Get Baked
4. Irish Carbomb Cupcakes by Susan at The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
5. Pistachio Caramel Cookies by Jen at Jen’s Favorite Cookies
6. Guinness Stout Mini Bundt Cakes Shanna at Pineapple and Coconut
7. Irish Cheese and Bacon Cheesecake with Walnut Crust by Carla at Chocolate Moosey
8. Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheese Trifle by Anita at Hungry Couple
9. Key Lime Pie Ice Cream by Renee at Magnolia Days
10. Pistachio Mousse Cups by Kim at Cravings of a Lunatic
11. Irish Eggs Benedict by Isabelle at Crumb
12. Cookie Stacks by Angie at Big Bear’s Wife
13. Guinness Chocolate Cake by Jen at Juanita’s Cocina
14. Irish Potato-Oatmeal Bread by Sarah at What Smells So Good?

Now that should get your ready for St. Pat’s for sure! There are plenty of choices of recipes to make. Join me in visiting each one of these wonderful blogs. They are only a click away…

What is your favorite thing to do for St. Patrick’s Day? It is sipping green beer or pinching those who forgot to wear green? Or could it be cooking, baking, and sharing the goods with family and friends? I’m sure you can figure out which one I like to do. Now where’s my green shirt? I don’t want to get pinched…

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Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

A recipe for homemade key lime pie ice cream made with fresh squeezed key lime juice, cream, eggs, and sweetened condensed milk.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Author Renee

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14 ounces
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup key lime juice
• Graham crackers for serving and garnish

Instructions

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the heavy cream and half-and-half and cook until it reaches 120 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until slightly lighter in color. Use a ladel to add a little of the cream to the egg yolks and whisk to combine. Do this slowly and in small amounts to temper the egg yolks. Too much hot liquid at one time will cook/scramble the yolks. Continue adding cream until at least half has been mixed with the yolks. Add the yolks/cream mixture back to the pan and whisk to combine.
3. Over medium heat, cook the mixture until it thickens, stirring constantly. Pour the mixture through a strainer into a medium bowl. If very thick, push through the strainer with a silicone spatula. Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and key lime juice. Stir or whisk to combine. Cover the mixture directly on top with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Cool to room temperature. Once it has cooled, place it in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
4. Pour chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer ice cream to a container and place it in the freezer for at least one hour or overnight. Garnish and serve with graham crackers. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Time above does not reflect time for chilling mixture overnight. It does reflect the cooking time, an approximate amount of time for churning/freezing, plus 1 hour for freezing after churning.