VegetarianNorth East English cuisine Desserts

Redcar Lemon Top

Name: Redcar Lemon Top
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: North East English
Ingredients: 150 g caster sugar; 150 ml Water; 4 unwaxed lemons; 1 large egg white; 300 ml double cream; 200 g sweetened condensed milk; 1 tsp vanilla bean paste; 4 wafer ice cream cones

A Teesside seaside icon featuring rich, velvety vanilla ice cream nestled in a crisp wafer cone and crowned with sharp, refreshing lemon sorbet.

🇬🇧United Kingdom· North East England

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 5 min
Total: 30 min
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 340 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 8 gathered

Servings

150 g caster sugar — for the lemon sorbet syrup
150 ml Water — tap water
4 unwaxed lemons — finely zested and juiced to yield approx. 120ml juice
1 large egg white — lightly whisked to soften sorbet texture
300 ml double cream — chilled
200 g sweetened condensed milk — for an easy no-churn base
1 tsp vanilla bean paste — or good-quality vanilla extract
4 wafer ice cream cones — traditional flat-top or cornet style

Equipment

•Small saucepan
•Electric hand whisk
•Two shallow freezer containers
•Citrus juicer
•Ice cream scoop

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 340 kcal
fat: 17 g
carbs: 44 g
fibre: 1 g
protein: 4 g
calories: 340 kcal

Instructions

1
Combine the caster sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat on the hob.
2
Stir gently until the sugar dissolves completely, then bring the syrup to a simmer for two minutes.
3
Remove the saucepan from the heat, stir in the lemon zest and fresh lemon juice, then leave to cool.
4
Pour the cooled lemon mixture into a shallow freezer container and freeze for two hours until slushy.
5
Whisk the egg white until frothy, fold it thoroughly through the semi-frozen lemon mixture, and freeze until solid.
6
Whip the chilled double cream, condensed milk, and vanilla bean paste in a large bowl until soft peaks form.
7
Transfer the whipped vanilla cream to a separate container and freeze for at least four hours until set.
8
Take both containers out of the freezer ten minutes before serving to soften slightly for easy scooping.
9
Scoop a generous mound of vanilla ice cream firmly into the top of each wafer cone.
10
Top each cone with a distinct, neat scoop of the sharp lemon sorbet and serve immediately.

Chef's tips

Using unwaxed lemons ensures maximum aromatic citrus oil flavour in the sorbet without any chemical bitterness. Letting the sorbet and ice cream temper at room temperature for ten minutes makes achieving clean, rounded scoops much easier.

Ingredient substitutions

wafer ice cream cones → gluten-free wafer cones or dessert sundae dishes
sweetened condensed milk → traditional cooked vanilla egg custard base

Storage

Store the vanilla ice cream and lemon sorbet separately in airtight freezer containers for up to one month.

Reheating

Do not reheat; leave at room temperature for ten minutes before scooping directly from frozen.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Attempting to scoop straight from a hard freeze, which can crush the delicate wafer cone.
•Leaving out the egg white, which helps prevent the sorbet from setting into a solid ice block.
•Boiling the sugar syrup for too long, which turns it into thick caramel rather than light syrup.