Blackberry Ice Cream With Candied Lemon Zest

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Remove the zest (the colored part of the peel, not the white) of the lemons in long strips with a vegetable peeler or paring knife and cut into matchstick size. Juice enough lemons to yield ½ cup.

2. Step 2

   Combine 1 cup of the sugar and the water in a medium saucepan and heat to boiling, swirling the pan instead of stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the lemon zest strips and boil over medium-high heat for 30 minutes or until the lemon strips are translucent and syrup forms big, sticky bubbles that cover the surface.

3. Step 3

   Remove pan from heat and take peel from pan with a fork to a sieve placed over a bowl. Cool zest strips until dried. Reserve syrup for another use; for example, for lemonade or sorbet.

4. Step 4

   While lemon zest cools, puree blackberries in a food processor and push pulp through a wire sieve placed over a large bowl to remove seeds. Add the remaining 2 cups of sugar, the cassis, reserved lemon juice and the cream to the blackberry puree and whisk until blended.

5. Step 5

   Grease a cutting board with nonstick cooking spray and spread out the candied lemon peel over surface. Coat candied lemon zest with cooking spray and finely chop; stir it into berry mixture. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

6. Step 6

   Freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If ice cream is very soft, transfer to a container, cover and freeze until hard.