I recently made my first strawberry rhubarb pie of the season and served with it an ice cream made from scraps in the fridge. I had an open container of sour cream, the dregs of a pint of yogurt, a lemon on its last legs, but no eggs. The resulting tangy sour cream ice cream was, like many kitchen inventions, a happy accident because along the way I discovered the perfect ice cream flavor for pie.
Pies, especially fruit-based ones, ask for something creamy, not too sweet, with a bit of tang. A lemon-kissed sour cream ice cream covers all bases. Since I didn't have eggs, and probably wouldn't have wanted their forward flavor to get in the way of the sour cream anyway, I thickened the ice cream with a bit of cornstarch cooked with the milk and sugar. The yogurt ended up rounding out the flavor so it wasn't overly sour and didn't require as much sugar, but feel free to use all sour cream.
No pie? This ice cream would also be great drizzled with some cooked fruit and served with a wedge of shortbread; think of it as pie a la mode, turned inside out.
Tangy Sour Cream Ice Cream
Makes about 2 pints12 ounces sour cream
4 ounces plain whole milk yogurt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Pinch salt
1 cup whole milk
In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, yogurt, lemon juice and zest.
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt and 2 tablespoons of the milk. Whisk until a uniform paste forms, then whisk in the remaining milk. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly until the mixture foams and boils. Take care not to burn the mixture. When the mixture thickens slightly, remove the pan from the heat.
Gradually stir the cornstarch mixture into the sour cream mixture. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.
Freeze the in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Related: Shopping for Ice Cream Makers: 5 Models We've Reviewed
(Images: Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan)
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This looks delicious! My go-to lately has been variations on buttermilk ice cream, which I highly recommend. This would provide a similar balance.
Oooh this looks good. By coincidence, my husband finished making batches of strawberry lemon preserves, the lemons cut into slices and then quartered, which we spooned over vanilla ice cream last night. But THIS recipe seems a perfect choice for the preserves. Love your "experiments"!
Can you make this ice cream without the ice cream machine? I would love to make this recipe to go with my pies, but do not have an ice cream machine.
OK. It's official. I need to buy an ice cream machine! This recipe is the final straw! Thanks for the post!!
ummmm HELLO YUMINESS!!!!!! Any links to a recipe for that rhubarb pie as well?? ;-)
Sure, ice cream, whatever. But what's that pie?!
What's that container the ice cream is in? I like it!
@AMYB19 It's a stainless steel lunchbox from Pearl River Mart in NYC. $5.50
I agree, tell us about the pie!