Recipe - Italian Lemon Ice

This is an excellent dessert for a summer day! =] This wasn’t the first time I’ve made Italian ice but it had been a while since. However, it turned out as well as it had before, which was good considering it was the dessert to my friend’s birthday feast that I put together with another friend. It was also for a 21st birthday so we added some kick to it by contributing the smooth delectable taste of limoncello creme. You don’t need to include that but if you are of age, it complements the tartness of lemon ice well. Oh yes and one thing I enjoy when making this is using the lemons as the cups!

Fun fact about limoncello: it’s normally served chilled as an after-dinner drink and is made mostly in southern Italy. In fact, I was first exposed to it when I was in southern Italy and quite thoroughly enjoyed it!
 
Step 1: Ingredients (serving size: 10-15 lemon cupfuls)

• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 cups water
• 4 large lemons, freshly squeezed
• *optional* 750ml limoncello creme (we had some from Gioia Luisa)
  

Step 2: Preparation
Start a pot to boil your water. Wash your lemons well. Slice just the top off of the lemons with ample space for you to pull the pulp out so you don’t damage your “cup” that you will make later. I’ve included a picture of the cut.


Step 3: Juicing the lemons
Add sugar to your pot and stir it in well. Then turn off the heat and let the water sit. Juice your lemons! Save the “cups” and “lids” from your slicing by putting them in the fridge.

Step 4: Making the mixture
Add your lemon juice to the water and stir it in well. Once it has cooled down, pour it into a tray (or multiple trays…I used three for three people). Have that cool down a tad too before putting it in the freezer.

Step 5: Creating texture
Every so often, you’re going to have to check on your trays. Using a fork, finely mash up the ice every hour or so after the first initial freeze. You want a fluffy icy consistency.

Step 6: Completion and optional topping
Enjoy your dessert by spooning it into those lovely cups you’ve made. We topped each cup off with some of the limoncello creme to dull out the kick of lemony tartness but if you want that fresh zing to your jaw, you don’t need to do this =].