Homemade Creamy Limoncello

Limoncello cream is a thick and creamy liqueur, its taste is reminiscent of limoncello, but its texture is velvety thanks to the addition of milk and cream. It is usually served iced after meals or as a cool summer drink, a perfect mix between liqueur and dessert, but it is also often used to flavor desserts and as a dip for sponge cake and baba. It is a very popular liqueur in Campania, especially in the Sorrento peninsula, a land rich in irresistible scented lemons. For an excellent success of the recipe it is important to use untreated lemons, large and with a thick skin, excellent alcohol and very fresh milk and cream. But here's how to prepare a thick and tasty limoncello cream.

How to make Homemade Italian Limoncello Cream

Wash the lemons well, with the help of a brush in order to remove any residues. Dry them with a clean cotton cloth and peel them with a potato peeler 1.

Be careful and cut the peels without the white part, which is bitter and could compromise the taste finish of the limoncello cream. Pour the pure alcohol into an airtight jug and add the lemon peels, which you will leave to macerate for a month in a dark and cool place, shaking the container every day 2.

After the necessary time, boil the milk, cream and vanilla pod, alternatively you can use 2 tablespoons of vanilla essence. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat and allow to cool 3.

Add the sugar and mix well until it dissolves completely. Let it cool and remove the vanilla bean. Open the jar with the lemon peels and the alcohol, filter through a colander or cheesecloth and add the alcohol to the cream of milk and cream 4.

Mix everything well, pour the liquid into the bottles using a funnel 5 and place in the freezer.

Let the limoncello cream rest for at least a month in the freezer, before serving it very cold as a pleasant after meal, fresh and digestive. 6

Tips

Before serving the limoncello cream, shake the bottle well.

In addition to being an excellent digestive liqueur, the limoncello cream can also be used to garnish cakes and pies.

If you want to make your limoncello cream less alcoholic, reduce the dose of alcohol: in our case, use 300/350 ml instead of 1/2 liter.

Once ready, you can also keep the limoncello cream in the fridge: however, storage times will be reduced.

If in the fridge it hardens or if it is too thick, leave the limoncello cream out of the fridge for 10-15 minutes before consuming it.

If you want to prepare a "lighter" version you can make a limoncello cream without cream. In that case you will boil the milk with the sugar, to which you can also add the lemon peels taken from the alcohol to flavor the cream of milk. Once cooled, remove the lemon peels and add the alcohol and vanilla essence. Mix well, bottle and put in the freezer.

How to store the limoncello cream

The limoncello cream can be stored in the freezer for a year.