Vanilla Matcha Lemon Custard Ice Cream

Instructions

1. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a clean bowl. Warm the cream, milk, and half of the sugar in a saucepan until steaming. Small bubbles may appear around the edge, but the dairy should not boil.
2. Whisk the finely grated lemon zest into the warm dairy until evenly dispersed before tempering the yolks. The accent should be evenly distributed with no visible pockets.
3. Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and salt until the mixture is smooth and slightly lighter in color.
4. Slowly whisk about 1 cup of the hot dairy into the yolks. Return the tempered yolk mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat. Whisk the sifted matcha with about 1/2 cup of the hot custard in a small bowl until perfectly smooth, then whisk that mixture back into the saucepan. The custard is ready at about 170°F (77°C), when it lightly coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn through it leaves a clean path. The matcha should be fully dispersed with no dry specks or lumps.
5. Immediately strain the matcha custard into the clean bowl and stir in the vanilla. Set the bowl over an ice bath and stir until the custard is no longer hot. Cooling it quickly protects the texture and shortens the time it spends warm.
6. Cover and refrigerate the custard for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, until completely cold.
7. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the machine's instructions. Transfer to a shallow freezer container. Stop churning when the ice cream is thick and holds soft ridges like soft serve.
8. Freeze for at least 4 hours before scooping. For easier scooping, let the container stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.