Lemon Ice Cream Bars – A Great Refreshing Treat to Enjoy
New Year Refreshing Dessert
After all the rich and decadent sweets we enjoyed this past holiday season, let’s refresh the New Year with some delicious Lemon Ice Cream Bars! It is always a great idea to have an easy, delicious, and refreshing dessert recipe on hand for any occasion. Whether you are hosting or attending any gatherings, these bars will surely make a statement. They are plant-based, vegan, gluten-free, and perfect for people of all ages.
Simple Ingredients
I am a huge advocate in creating easy, delicious, and plant-based vegan recipes. I love making my coconut flour crust for bars because it only requires 3 ingredients and it is gluten-free friendly. It bakes fast and can be molded to fit any sized pan you have on hand.
The topping of Lemon Curd is one of my favorites as well. I love having this quick and easy Lemon Curd recipe on hand to “jazz” up any recipes. To get your desired thickness, just adjust the amount of cornstarch included. In this case, I didn’t want it to turn out to like jelly, so I opted to use less cornstarch.
Ice Cream Selection
Finally, the most important ingredient… ice cream! Most vegan ice creams include additives and guar-gum to help develop the smooth, almost sticky texture of ice cream. As you may know, the more processed ingredients there are, the worse you may feel afterwards.
I used the Lemon Ice Cream by DiNoci because their ice cream does not use any additives. Every ingredient listed is easily recognizable, which I just love to see!
I highly recommend you try out their ice cream because it tastes amazing, has a beautiful texture, and contains absolutely no additives or guar-gum. They have a wide variety of flavors… but more specifically, the Mint Ganache is my all time favorite flavor!
Let Me See Your Creations
Let me know what you think of these Lemon Ice Cream Bars in the comments section below. Drop a rating so I know how you like it! I love to hear how you made this recipe your own or if you have any suggestions for improvements!
If you’re posting on Instagram, make sure to tag me at @nuttinelli and include #nuttinelli so I can see your amazing creations!
TIPS & TRICKS
- The crust will not brown like other crusts, so your judgement of it being done will be based on the crust looking slightly dried out.
- Do not melt the ice cream because when you refreeze it, it will change the structure and it won’t be rich, smooth, and creamy. Instead, let it soften enough to mold.
- Add the lemon curd before serving to get the best texture. It may be a little hard if you let it freeze!
- Make sure to get unsweetened and unflavored Almond Milk so that it doesn’t take over the flavor profile at all. Or better yet, make your own using my recipe! It’s healthier and super quick!
THE MORE YOU KNOW
Lemon Ice Cream
I used the Lemon ice cream flavor by DiNoci. As I mentioned before, I love using this brand of ice cream because it is completely plant-based vegan and contains zero additives or guar-gums. It has the best texture and tastes even more delicious!
Coconut Flour
This is a great flour to use if you’re gluten-free. It is more absorbent than most flours but helps to elevate the coconut taste in the dessert. You can buy this from most grocery stores in the baking section.
Cornstarch
This is used to help add some structure to the lemon curd. You can substitute Arrow Root Powder for this, but this is typically more expensive. You can buy cornstarch from most grocery stores in the baking section.
THANKS FOR READING
I hope you enjoy making these easy and delicious ice cream treats and I am sure everyone will ENJOY these fun bars at your next party or potluck!
– Janelle
Lemon Ice Cream Bars
Equipment
- Bread Loaf Pan (8½” x 4½” x 2½”)
Ingredients
General
- 1 pint DiNoci Lemon Ice Cream
Crust
- ½ cup Coconut Flour
- ¼ cup Refined Coconut Oil melted
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
Lemon Curd
- ½ cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 3 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest optional
- ⅓ cup Lemon Juice about 2 lemons
- ½ tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 pinch Tumeric for color, optional
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Prep pan optionally with oil or place parchment paper inside if you want to be able to slice the bars out of the pan at the end.
- In a small bowl melt coconut oil, then mix in maple syrup.
- Spread crust mixture evenly on the bottom of the pan and bake for 10-15 minutes (until starting to just slightly brown).
- Once finished baking, place in refrigerator to cool.
Lemon Curd
- In a medium pot on medium-low heat, mix the almond milk, maple syrup, and lemon zest.
- In a small bowl on the side, mix cornstarch and lemon juice thoroughly.
- Once the almond mixture is warm, add the lemon juice and cornstarch mixture. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.
- Continue to stir until the curd thickens. Add turmeric for color. Allow curd to cool.
Final Assembly
- Allow the ice cream to soften at room temperature. Then spread ice cream evenly on top of the crust. Cover and place in the freezer.
- Once the curd has cooled to room temperature, either spread on top of the ice cream and freeze or top before serving.
I made this today and it was delicious! I substituted the maple syrup with raw Agava and the coconut oil with vegetable oil. Crust still had a coconutty flavor. Caution: I baked the crust a bit too much and it was hard to cut.
Thanks Regina! Glad to see that the substitutions worked! I know the crust can be a bit tricky, but I’m cooking something up to improve on this. I hope you enjoyed consuming it as well! 🙂
Mahalo,
Janelle