Honey Lavender Ice Cream

Flavored with lavender flowers and sweetened with honey, this Honey Lavender Ice Cream recipe is luxuriously rich and delicious!  Use a good-flavored honey and the freshest culinary dried lavender you can find and you will be amply rewarded.

We’re huge ice cream fans in our family and have been on a roll this summer making various flavors of homemade ice cream. Some of our favorites include cookies and cream ice cream, roasted banana ice cream, pumpkin pie ice cream, and white chocolate cranberry pistachio ice cream.

This honey lavender ice cream recipe is our latest and let me tell you, the moment you take that first bite you know it’s something special.  Each bite is something to be savored.  And if you close your eyes you’ll find yourself instantly teleported to the vibrant lavender fields of southern France where the air is sweet, the bees are humming, and you’re embraced by the warmth of the sun.

Shutterstock

Be sure to use a good-flavored honey and quality dried lavender flowers.  I’m using our local raw honey because that’s what keep on hand but you don’t have to use raw honey, any good honey will do.  Select the freshest dried lavender flowers you can find and make sure they are culinary grade lavender.  Good honey isn’t cheap so this is not an inexpensive ice cream to make.  It is something special to indulge in on special occasions or when you feel like treating yourself to something extra sumptuous.

This recipe is adapted from David Lebovitz’ book The Perfect Scoop.  It’s full of delicious ice cream recipes and I highly recommend it for all ice cream enthusiasts.  And if you’re a fellow Francophile, pick up a copy of his book The Sweet Life in Paris.  It’s a wonderful little book full of hilarious stories that will have you stitches.

Honey Lavender Ice Cream Recipe

Let’s get started!

Heat the honey in the microwave until hot then stir in the lavender.  Let the lavender steep at room temperature for at least one hour.

Be sure to use quality culinary grade lavender for your lavender ice cream.

Pour the cream into a large bowl and place a fine mesh strainer on top.  Pour the lavender-steeped honey into the cream through the strainer and press on the lavender flowers to extract all the honey.

Discard the lavender flowers and put the strainer back over the bowl.

Place the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Warm the milk, stirring the sugar until it is dissolved.

While the milk is warming, place the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk them together.

Pour 1/2 cup or so of the warmed milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.  Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan of warmed milk, whisking constantly.

Use a rubber spatula or spoon to continue stirring the mixture, scraping the bottom to prevent sticking, until the mixture is thicken enough to coat the spatula or the back of the spoon.

Pour the hot mixture through the strainer into the honey-infused cream, then stir to combine.

Let the mixture cool completely, then cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, pour the chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Once the ice cream has thickened, transfer it to a freezer container and freeze for at least a couple of hours, or until fully firm, before serving.

Enjoy!

For more lavender recipes be sure to also try our:

• Lavender Lemonade
• French Almond Cake with Lavender Lemon Glaze
• Herbes de Provence

Adapted from David Lebovitz