I've said it before and I'll say it again: Creating ice cream recipes and flavors is my favorite thing. Nothing gets my creativity flowing like ice cream. I literally lay awake at night thinking of ideas and adding them to a never-ending note on my phone. I have even dreamt of ice cream flavors. This is a flavor idea I've had on my ever-growing list of recipe ideas foreverrrrrrr. And I'm finally sharing it just in time for summer. Turning key lime pie into a no-churn recipe just makes sense as sweetened condensed milk is a staple ingredient of both. I didn't just want a lime flavored ice cream base though, oh no. I wanted a tart swirl of lime curd running throughout. And a buttery, slightly salty graham cracker crumb of course. This is just the perfect summertime treat!
Inspiration behind this Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
My dad didn't make a ton of desserts, but key lime pie was one of his specialties. He used the recipe on the back of Nellie and Joe's bottled key lime juice and it was perfect every time. There is a lot of snootiness regarding the use of bottled citrus juices, and I'll admit I almost always prefer freshly squeezed (especially for cocktails or drinks), but when it's being mixed with sweetened condensed milk and eggs, you'll hardly notice the difference and nobody wants to squeeze that many key limes. Anyway, this dessert is an ode to my sweet and sometimes tart daddy-o and his signature pie as well as a necessary outlet for my ice cream obsession.
I do call for lime zest as it adds an additional layer of lime flavor as well as some pretty green flecks, but if you want to skip it that's fine by me.
A few steps but nothing difficult
Before we begin making the no-churn ice cream base, we will make the buttery graham cracker crumb layer and the delightfully tart lime curd. These can be made days in advance, so don't feel like you have to make all the components in one day. In fact, it would be best to make the curd in advance so it has time to cool and set completely.
I make the crumbs by combining everything in the food processor, but you could just as easily do this in a zip-top bag. I also break from tradition and toast the crumbs on the stove top. Turning the oven on to make a no-churn ice cream seemed a little counter-intuitive to me and it takes no time to toast them in a skillet.
Once the components are all made, it's as easy as layering, sprinkling, and swirling then tossing in the freezer. The hardest part is the waiting!
I hope you love this easy recipe as much as we do. Make sure to leave a comment and rating if you make it and if you share to instagram tag me @wild.thistle.kitchen so I can see. xo - Anita
Check out these other no-churn ice cream recipes:
No Churn Blueberry Swirl Ice Cream
No Churn Brown Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Lemon Olive Oil Semifreddo (technically not ice cream but a fun, no-churn frozen treat!)
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No-Churn Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
Description
Creamy, dreamy, tart, and tangy - this Key Lime Pie Ice Cream is the ultimate summertime treat to beat the heat! A creamy ice cream base swirled with super tart lime curd and a buttery graham cracker crumble throughout.
Ingredients
For the ice cream base
- 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- Zest from one large lime or from about 3 key limes *see notes
- ½ cup lime juice, Nellie and Joe's bottled Key Lime Juice or freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
for the graham cracker crumb
- 10-12 full graham crackers (or 1.5 cups crumbs)
- ½ stick softened butter
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
for the lime curd
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup lime juice, Nellie and Joe's bottled Key Lime Juice or freshly squeezed
- 3 whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks
- 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) butter, cold and diced
- Zest from one large lime or from about 3 key limes *see notes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
Instructions
First, make the Lime Curd by combining sugar, lime juice, salt, eggs and yolks in a saucepan. Whisk to combine thoroughly and place over medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture thickens like pudding. Remove from heat and whisk in butter a couple small pieces at a time. Strain if you wish (I usually don't) then add lime zest and vanilla, stir well, then transfer to a jar, place in fridge, and allow to cool completely.
Next, make the graham cracker crumble by pulsing graham crackers, sugar, salt, and butter in the food processor until you have a fine crumb. Alternatively you can do this in a large zip top bag by crushing and squishing everything together either with your hands or a rolling pin.
Place this mixture into a skillet over medium heat and toast, stirring very frequently, until the crumbs become toasty and fragrant. This should take about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and allow crumbs to cool. Store in an airtight container or small zip-top bag until ready to use.
At this point place a large glass or metal baking dish in the freezer. I use a large glass pyrex. It's nice to have it cold before adding the ice cream mixture to it.
When the curd and crumbs are made and completely cooled, move on with the final steps:
In a large bowl combine sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, vanilla, and zest and whisk to combine. In another large bowl, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (you're just making whipped cream here). I use a hand mixer for this but you could whisk by hand or use a stand mixer with a whisk attachment as well.
Next, add about ½ the whipped cream to the sweetened condensed milk mixture and fold and stir together. Add the rest of the whipped cream and fold to combine. Try to fold gently but don't get too fussy about it.
See photos in post for reference on the layering process
In your chilled baking dish, add a thin layer of graham cracker crumbs evenly to the bottom- about ⅓ of your mixture.
Next add ⅓ of the ice cream mixture followed by 4-5 blobs of lime curd
repeat this layering until all ingredients are used up. You'll want to end with the final ⅓ of the cream mixture followed by a few blobs of curd. This makes the prettiest presentation, but don't worry too much - it will be so delicious no matter what order you end in!
Using a butter knife or chopstick, swirl the ice cream together, making sure to reach all the way to the bottom so you get some good swirls of all ingredients throughout.
cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 6-8 hours.
Notes
If you just want to use bottled lime juice and don't want to bother with zest, you have my permission to skip it. You will miss out on an extra layer of lime flavor, but the curd has so much flavor you will still have an incredible, tangy ice cream.