Yuzu Ice Cream 柚子アイスクリーム

Treat yourself to creamy and refreshing homemade Yuzu Ice Cream made with yuzu jam (marmalade). This easy recipe strikes the perfect balance of sweet and citrus flavors with the unmistakable fragrance of this prized Asian fruit.

Yuzu (柚子) is an Asian citrus fruit that’s become very popular in the United States. But in Japan, yuzu has been around for centuries and is used extensively in various sweet and savory dishes. With a fragrance that’s unmistakable, I simply adore any yuzu-flavored foods, and creamy Yuzu Ice Cream is one of my favorites.

Today, I’m sharing my very easy Yuzu Ice Cream recipe that you can make with store-bought yuzu marmalade. The resulting ice cream has the perfect balance of sweet and refreshing citrus flavor. This recipe is an delightful way to enjoy yuzu and I hope you give it a try!

What is Yuzu?

Yuzu (柚子) is a small yellow or green citrus fruit that’s highly prized in Japanese cooking for its intensely aromatic zest and floral, tart-sweet juice. Originally from China, yuzu is mostly used in Japanese and Korean cuisines.

The juice tastes like a complex blend of sour, sweet, and floral flavors. It’s a good combination of tart lemon, bitter grapefruit, sweet orange, and fragrant pomelo. The taste is more complex than the juice of lemon or lime.

Yuzu’s flavor is tart but it has an amazing aroma; therefore, it is rarely eaten as a fruit. Instead, we use aromatic yuzu zest and yuzu juice just as we use lemon for recipes. You can read more about this delicious fruit on my yuzu page.

Use Marmalade to Make Yuzu Ice Cream

I know fresh yuzu is very hard to find outside of Japan and Korea, so I thought of using other yuzu products. I like to use bottled yuzu juice for my cooking, but this is also not easy to find if you don’t have a Japanese grocery store nearby.

My third option was Korean yuzu tea (yuja cha, citron tea). You can find this product in most Korean and Asian/Japanese grocery stores. Although it is called yuzu “tea,” it’s more like yuzu jam or marmalade. The marmalade is typically made from yuzu fruit including the zest, so it works perfectly for yuzu ice cream.

Ingredients You’ll Need

You need just 6 ingredients to make my Yuzu Ice Cream. The custard for the ice cream base is pretty similar to my other ice cream recipes, too.

• large egg yolks
• sugar
• whole milk
• heavy (whipping) cream
• yuzu jam (marmalade) – I use yuzu “tea“ from the Korean market, but you could also make my Yuzu Marmalade recipe
• kosher salt – I use Diamond Crystal brand

How To Make Yuzu Ice Cream

1. Freeze the ice cream bowl (if your ice cream maker requires one) at least 24 hours prior to starting the recipe.
2. Make the custard mixture. Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl at medium-high speed until fluffy. Warm the whole milk in a medium saucepan and slowly add it to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Cook the custard mixture in the pot over medium heat, stirring constantly and never letting it boil.
3. Strain the custard over a fine-mesh strainer into a glass bowl of heavy cream set over an ice bath. Whisk in the yuzu jam and kosher salt. Stir until cool. Then, chill this ice cream base in the fridge.
4. Churn the chilled ice cream base in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions, usually about 25 minutes. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until firm.
5. Garnish scoops with yuzu jam to serve.

You can keep it in the freezer for up to 2 weeks, but enjoy it sooner for the best flavor and color and to avoid ice crystals forming on the surface.

Ice Cream and Sorbet Recipes You’ll Love

• Matcha Ice Cream
• Black Sesame Ice Cream
• Red Bean (Azuki) Ice Cream
• Yuzu Sorbet
• Shiso Sorbet
• Soy Sauce Caramel Ice Cream

Yuzu Ice Cream

4.93 from 13 votes

Treat yourself to creamy and refreshing homemade Yuzu Ice Cream made with yuzu jam (marmalade). This easy recipe strikes the perfect balance of sweet and citrus flavors with the unmistakable fragrance of this prized Asian fruit.

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Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Churning Time + Chilling/Freezing Time: 7 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 1 quart (liter)

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 large egg yolks
• ▢ ¾ cup sugar
• ▢ 2 cups whole milk
• ▢ 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
• ▢ 4 Tbsp yuzu jam (marmalade) (plus more for garnish; you can make my Yuzu Marmalade recipe; I used yuzu “tea“ from the Korean market)
• ▢ ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

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Instructions

 

To Freeze the Ice Cream Bowl (at least 24 hours prior)

• If you‘re using an ice cream maker that requires you to pre-freeze the bowl (like this one), make sure to freeze it for at least 24 hours.

  I now have this ice cream maker with a compressor and absolutely love it because it does not require pre-freezing the bowl. 

  If you don‘t have an ice cream maker, I hope this post helps.

To Make the Ice Cream Mixture

• Before You Start…Please note that this recipe requires 7+ hours of chilling, churning, and freezing time.

  Gather all the ingredients. 
  
• In a mixing bowl, beat 4 large egg yolks and ¾ cup sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy (it’ll take about 2–3 minutes).
  
• In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups whole milk to a simmer (don‘t let the milk boil).
  
• SLOWLY add the warmed milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly at the lowest mixer speed (pour in one spoonful at a time at the beginning). Once the mixture gets warmed up, slowly pour in the rest of the milk and mix it all together.
  
• Transfer the custard mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula until thick enough to coat the back of the spatula, about 4–5 minutes or so. NEVER let the custard boil because your custard will turn into scrambled eggs.
  
• Pour 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream into a medium-size glass bowl. Set it over a larger bowl filled with ice. Use a fine-mesh strainer to strain the custard mixture into the bowl of heavy cream.
  
• Whisk in 4 Tbsp yuzu jam (marmalade) and ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Stir until cool over the ice bath. Then, chill the custard thoroughly in the refrigerator, for about 3 hours or overnight. The longer you chill the mixture the more flavorful the ice cream will become.
  

To Churn the Ice Cream

• Pour the custard into your ice cream maker and churn the mixture according to the manufacturer’s instructions, typically about 25 minutes. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about 4–5 hours, before serving.
  

To Serve

• To scoop frozen Yuzu Ice Cream, dip an ice cream scoop in cold water and shake it off before using. Garnish with yuzu tea. Enjoy!

To Store

• You can keep it in the freezer for up to 2 weeks, but enjoy it sooner for the best flavor and color and to avoid the formation of ice crystals on the surface.

Notes

How to make this without an ice cream maker, click here.

Equipment

• Whynter Ice Cream Maker with Compressor (2.1QT)

Nutrition

Serving: 1 QT · Calories: 1938 kcal · Carbohydrates: 189 g · Protein: 32 g · Fat: 122 g · Saturated Fat: 70 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 7 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 37 g · Cholesterol: 1113 mg · Sodium: 475 mg · Potassium: 900 mg · Fiber: 2 g · Sugar: 176 g · Vitamin A: 5320 IU · Vitamin C: 21 mg · Calcium: 815 mg · Iron: 3 mg

Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: ice cream, yuzu

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