Lychee Ice Cream

Lychee ice cream with rose is a delightful frozen dessert offering a fusion of floral & fruity tropical flavors. This easy lychee ice cream recipe is super fragrant and requires just 5-6 ingredients. The combination of creamy texture and the exotic taste of lychee makes this eggless and no-churn fruit flavored ice cream a unique and refreshing dessert for summer months.

No-churn ice creams are one of my favorite treat to make at home during summer. They are incredibly creamy, require minimal effort, and are perfect for endless ice cream request during summer break! Among my favorites are also these homemade ice cream recipes like masala chai ice cream and kaju kishmish ice cream.

Speaking of lychees, to be truthful, I had never considered using them in a recipe up until this summer when I had the opportunity to taste a lychee custard during one of our trips. I must say that the custard was one of the most delightful desserts I have enjoyed in quite some time, and it served as inspiration for creating this ice cream recipe.

What is Lychee

Lychee or as we call it litchi in India, is a tropical fruit native to south east asia. It has a round shape with a pink or red spiky outer covering. Once you peel the skin, the inside reveals a translucent fleshy fruit which is juicy, sweet, and fragrant. Overall, the flavor of lychee is a melange of floral, tropical, and slightly tart notes.

I purchase lychee from asian stores near me for many years. In recent years, I have spotted fresh lychees at Trader Joes and Costco. Fresh lychee tastes truly ambrosial- it is sweet, juicy and best enjoyed chilled.

About Lychee Ice cream

My kids and I really love mildly sweet creamy desserts and this ice cream is no exception. The base of lychee ice cream is made using a mixture of heavy cream, rose water and a paste of lychee, condensed milk and milk. Then I freeze it overnight to achieve a smooth and creamy consistency.

You will be blown away by flavor and creaminess of this icecream. It has a delicate sweetness and floral notes of the rose and lychee fruit.

Why You Will Love this recipe

• Needs only 5 ingredients
• Effortless- Blend, mix and freeze! How easy is that?
• No churning needed
• The same recipe works for different kinds of fruits like mango, peaches, strawberries, you name it
• Eggless - makes it perfect to serve to a crowd (no fear of allergies)
• Easily made vegan - read how to later in the post

No Churn Ice Cream

Here are a few of my learnings over the years-

First & foremost, to make a super creamy no churn ice cream, use high fat, low moisture ingredients. We use a very little quantity of milk to blend the lychees, that's it! The main ingredient for the base is heavy cream.

Secondly, avoid using sugar. In no churn ice creams, I recommend using condensed milk. The reason being that once sugar dissolves, it turns into liquid. Liquid presence perpetuates icicle formation. Condensed milk not only has little higher protein than milk, it tastes divine and most of all has low moisture content and high fat content making it the best choice to sweeten things up.

Jump to:

• What is Lychee
• About Lychee Ice cream
• No Churn Ice Cream
• Ingredients
• How To Make Lychee Ice Cream
• Recipe Tips
• Lychee Ice Cream (No Churn)

Ingredients

• Lychees - Fresh or canned both work. Drain the canned lychees, don't use the juice.
• Milk- You could use skim milk for blending if you wish. I use full fat milk or evaporated milk.
• Sweetened Condensed Milk, Heavy Cream
• Rose Water - Or use rose essence. Food grade crushed dried rose petals could be added too. I feel that rose really enhances the floral notes in the ice cream and complements the flavor of lychees.

How To Make Lychee Ice Cream

• With clean hands, peel the fresh lychees. Separate the translucent flesh and discard the inner seed. If using canned lychees, drain them over a colander. We wont use the canned liquid.
• Add the lychee meat to a small blender jar. Add milk and half of the condensed milk quantity. Blend to a fine smooth paste.
• In a large bowl, add the heavy cream and using a hand mixer, whip it slightly. We are not looking for any peaks but want it to get a little thick and fluffy.
• Add the remaining condensed milk, the lychee paste and rose water to the heavy cream. You could add some dried rose petals if you wish.
• Beat for another couple minutes or so to combine everything nicely. It will have a pouring consistency.
• Pour into a container or a freezer safe glass dish. Before sealing the container, press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream. This helps minimize the formation of ice crystals and maintain a smoother texture.
• Freeze for 8-10 hours, I usually leave it overnight in the freezer.
• Scoop and enjoy! You could garnish with fresh lychee pieces, rose petals, or a drizzle of honey for an extra touch of sweetness and elevate presentation.

Vegan Lychee Coconut Ice Cream

Swap out the heavy cream for coconut cream, whole milk for any nut based milk and condensed milk for condensed coconut milk for a vegan version of this recipe.

Recipe Tips

• Choose the freshest, ripest sweet lychees for making ice cream.
• Add coarsely chopped lychee to the ice cream base if you desire.
• The same recipe can be made in an ice cream maker. Add the creamy base to your machine and follow manufacture's direction.
• If possible, give the ice cream mixture a stir every 30 minutes for the first few hours of freezing. This helps prevent large ice crystals from forming and promotes a smoother texture.