Lavender Honey Ice Cream for Casual Friday
It’s summertime, it’s Friday and the weekend is here! We love to entertain in the summer when we can spend time outdoors with friends, fire up the grill and and prepare dishes with all the beautiful local produce that is the best part of summer.
Dessert is no different. I make fresh cobblers, pies and crisps with blueberries, peaches and blackberries this time of year. There is nothing better than serving them warm with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream. Ice cream. It’s also one of our favorite desserts. All by itself.
The scent of fresh lavender is intoxicating
I knew exactly what I was going to make when I received some gorgeous fresh lavender from a farm we visited on one of our On the Road adventures. It is a beautiful farm and and I will be writing about it very soon.
I found a recipe on Healthy Green Kitchen for Honey Lavender Ice Cream. It is from David Lebovitz’ The Perfect Scoop. His Double Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream was absolutely luscious, so I looked no further.
Use fresh lavender if you can find it
The delicate flavor of lavender is subtle in this ice cream. It has the right amount of sweetness from the honey and is rich and creamy. It was the perfect ending to a dinner with friends filled with great food, wine and laughter. The season for lavender is short, so find some at a Farmers’ Market before it’s all gone and make this delightful ice cream.
The perfect way to end an evening
Have a great weekend!
Honey Lavender Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey (I used a local honey)
1/4 cup dried or fresh lavender leaves (I used fresh)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of sea salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I used organic)
5 large egg yolks (preferably organic and free-range)
Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat the honey and 2 tablespoons of the lavender. When it's warm, remove from heat and let steep for at least 1 hour.
Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and place a mesh strainer on top. Pour the lavender-infused honey into the cream through the strainer, pressing down on the lavender flowers to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the lavender flowers and place the strainer back over the cream.
Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the whole mixture back into the saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Stir in the remaining lavender flowers and stir until cool over an ice bath.
Chill overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, before churning, strain the mixture, again pressing the lavender flowers to extract their flavor. Discard the flowers and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop - David Lebovitz and Healthy Green Kitchen
I just love this! But then again, lavender charms me with it’s scent. I can’t wait to try this one.
I’m sitting here looking at a painting above my desk, of a farmhouse on a hill overlooking lavender fields…I haven’t cooked with it often, but I’ll show John this recipe, since he’s the ice cream man in our house! Have a great weekend.
Hi Denise,
I have not used lavender much in cooking either. I was concerned that the ice cream would be too “perfumey”, but it wasn’t at all. The lavender was very subtle and perfect with the honey.
Enjoy your weekend!
Gwen
Gwen – I just bought some dried lavender to start experimenting with it since I’ve never used it for cooking purposes. This looks like a great start and perfect for our hot days! Yummy!
WOW I need to make this ice cream! Where am I to get the lavender? Maybe I have to find a neighbor who is growing some :)!
Hi Jane,
If you cannot find fresh lavender, you can use dried. You can order it online or a specialty foods store with a nice selection of dried herbs and spices might carry it.
Gwen
Your ice cream looks fantastic Gwen…thanks for the shout-out! This is truly one of my all-time favorite flavors 🙂
You are welcome Winnie. We are hooked too. It had a really wonderful flavor.
i love ice cream. And i just bought some culinary lavender for a pork chop recipe i made last week. Now I have another reason to use my lavender. Yay!
Love the flavors in this, I bet it is so delicate and floral. Love love! I wish I had fresh lavender available!!
Hi Nelly,
Use dried lavender. It will not be quite as nice, but you don’t want to miss out on trying the flavor of this ice cream. Soo good!
Gwen
I’m absolutely obsessed with using honey, its such a unique and wonderful flavor. I’ve yet to try lavender in ice cream, this sounds and looks so incredibly amazing.
I just love the combination of lavender and honey. I have yet to get David Lebovitz’s book. Must buy! Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Lavender is under-rated. It grows in my yard yet I rarely turn to its charms. Thanks for the inspiration. GREG
Hi Gwen, Love the ice cream! While I haven’t used lavender in cooking myself I have sample a few dishes containing lavender. It does work well in some cases. The combination here is a prime example. Would love to taste this ice cream.
I am a big fan of lavender. Not only is it fragrant and beautiful but I have also found it most helpful in relieving headaches among other ailments. Check out my blog friend Patricia – lavenderuses.com for everything you would ever need to know about lavender and good blogging tips too!
Have a great weekend 🙂
Hi Kathy,
I love the scent of lavender and agree that it is helpful in calming the nerves and aiding in relaxation. We use lavender bath salts quite a bit for those crazy days! 😉 I will definitely look at your friend’s blog.
Have a great weekend!
Gwen
wonderful ice cream I got some lavender on my trip back home to the UK from a lavender farm to use in cooking
This is fantastic. I think it shouldn’t be casual Friday with an ice cream like that. Nothing less than elegant Friday. 🙂 I can’t wait to try this myself.
I love ice cream sweetened with honey; the lavender must add a wonderful flavor!
Do you use the lavender flowers as pictured or the leaves?
Hi Pam,
I used the buds just as pictured. That is also what you will find when you purchase culinary lavender. It’s the dried buds.
Gwen
My dear friend…what a beautifully crafted post. The lavender looks just beautiful…as does the icecream! Thank you for sharing with me today. I hope you are having a happy Monday! Much love and blessings from Austin!
Sounds sweet and delicious. But light for summer. Summer entertaining can be a lot of fun.
I have a small lavender plant and few days ago start blooming. It’s the first time I’m growing mine. Can’t wait to use it in some goodies.
Your ice-cream sounds great, perfect for this time of the year. Thanks for sharing
Happy weekend Gwen 🙂
Mmmm yes to the cobblers and crisps made with summer’s berries and stone fruits! I rarely make ice cream (problem with this darn French freezer I have) but now I just have to. Looks so scrumptious and cool.
Wondering if I can freeze the lavender flowers and use any time of year. Anyone?
Hi,
I have looked online and can’t seem to get a good answer. I would think you could as long as they were completely dry and kept in an airtight container. I guess the biggest question would be how long they would stay fragrant. The more preferred method of storage is to dry them. You can also purchase culinary lavender if you can’t have your own year round.
Gwen
Hi Gwen.. I dun have an ice cream maker…;((((
Wonder if it’s ok to just manually churn and freeze it?
Hi Ayuzara,
I am sure that would work just fine. That is how we used to do it. 😉 Just keep you eye on the mixture while churning to be sure the texture is right for serving. If you need to, put it in the freezer to make it firmer.
Good luck!
Gwen
Gwen, this sounds exquisite!
Hi Lizzy,
It is! We love this ice cream. It has such a wonderful and subtle lavender flavor.
Gwen
Beautiful photos and nice clear directions. I used your recipe today for reference while making some honey-lavender ice cream with lavender from my garden. I’d bought some lavender ice cream at the store that the family loved and was inspired to try making some at home. Got the custard done, we’ll see tomorrow how it turns out!