Description
This homemade Lavender Ice Cream features a delicate floral flavor infused from dried culinary lavender, balanced with creamy custard made from heavy cream, whole milk, and egg yolks. Perfectly sweetened and smooth, it offers a unique twist on classic ice cream that’s refreshing and elegant.
Ingredients
Scale
Ice Cream Base
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons dried culinary lavender
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Heat and Steep Lavender: In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, 1 cup of heavy cream, sugar, dried lavender, and salt. Heat the mixture over medium heat just until steaming, then remove it from heat. Cover and let it steep for 20 minutes to infuse the lavender flavor into the liquid.
- Strain Mixture: After steeping, strain the lavender-infused milk through a fine mesh sieve to remove lavender buds, pressing gently to extract all the liquid.
- Temper Egg Yolks: In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly add a ladle of the warm lavender milk into the yolks while whisking constantly to temper them and prevent curdling.
- Cook Custard: Pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining lavender milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, indicating it’s fully cooked and smooth.
- Add Cream and Vanilla: Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream and the vanilla extract. Mix well to combine all ingredients.
- Chill Mix: Refrigerate the custard mixture until completely cold to ensure a creamy texture when churned.
- Churn Ice Cream: Pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions until it reaches a soft-serve consistency.
- Freeze Firm: Transfer the churned ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze it until firm, about 4 hours or overnight, before serving.
Notes
- Always use culinary-grade lavender to avoid bitterness in the ice cream.
- For a stronger lavender flavor, you can steep the lavender for up to 30 minutes, tasting periodically to prevent overpowering the custard.
- If you want to add a pastel purple hue, add a drop of purple food coloring during the mixing step after removing from heat.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Ice Cream Maker
- Cuisine: American
