Lavender is in full bloom in my garden. Not a dried flower anywhere. A work colleague gave me some incredible honey from her biodynamically raised bees. As I went into the garden and saw all the honey bees on my lavender, two and two came together pretty quickly.
This ice cream is insanely delicious on a grilled peach, drizzled with extra honey. There's not much more to say.
This ice cream is insanely delicious on a grilled peach, drizzled with extra honey. There's not much more to say.
Dig in.
Lavender Flower and Honey Ice Cream
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
6 heads fresh lavender flowers, flowers removed from stems
Lavender Flower and Honey Ice Cream
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups 2% milk
3 white peppercorns, whole
3 egg yolks
3 ounces honey
1 cup cream
1/4 teaspoon crushed white peppercorns (optional)
Preparation:
Heat the milk, lavender flowers, and the whole white peppercorns in a large saucepan on medium-low until it reaches a simmer.
Remove from the heat, cover, and allow to steep for at least 20 minutes.
With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the honey until the yolks are pale yellow, thickened, and fall from the beaters in ribbons. Set aside.
Strain the milk, discarding the peppercorns and lavender flowers, and slowly pour into the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Return the mixture to the rinsed saucepan and heat gently, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. You will be able to leave a path with your finger when it reaches this stage.
Immediately remove from the heat, pour into a glass container (I have an 8-cup measuring container with a pouring lip for just this purpose), and refrigerate until very cold; overnight is best.
When ready to make ice cream, add the 1 cup of cream to the custard, whisk gently to combine, pour into your ice cream maker and process according to its directions.
When the ice cream is beginning to shape up, sprinkle the crushed peppercorns, if using, into the mixture and process until the ice cream is done.
Cook's Notes:
> The first night I made this, I served it beside sliced white peaches that had been drizzled with honey and sprinkled with a few crushed white peppercorns.
> The second time, I grilled some very ripe yellow peach halves until they were slightly softened, had grill marks and were very warm. I placed one peach half in each bowl, cut side up, and put a scoop of the ice cream into the well, and topped it all with a drizzle of honey. No peppercorns.
> This ice cream is not overly sweet, which is the way I prefer it. If you want a sweeter ice cream, add about 1/4 cup of sugar to the honey-egg yolk mixture.
Scrumptious
ReplyDeleteAnne
Thank you, Anne!
ReplyDeleteAnd nothing else needs to be said. ... except I must add: I love honey and lavender together, somehow they're made in heaven I think.
ReplyDeleteThey are indeed a heavenly duo, Tanna. How's your summer going?
ReplyDelete