Long time North Market Spices customer Ron Poole sent us this recipe. Ice Cream Maker is not required!
Lemon Lavender Ice Cream
“Where is fancy bred … in the heart or in the head?”
Taken from William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice – (but Gene Wilder says it better in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”)
Aside from its wonderful products and great prices, the Short North’s Spice Market is a great source of inspiration for any cook. A particular trip to the location not long after it opened lead to the discovery of their line of flavor extracts and buds of culinary lavender. A sudden “AHA” moment later, I walked out with both their lemon extract and a pack of buds to create a lemon-lavender ice cream.
The base for my creation came from Paula Deen’s cookies and cream ice cream recipe, courtesy of Food Network. I omitted the crushed Oreos and replace the usual vanilla with lemon extract. Infusing the lavender flavor into the cream is ridiculously easy: simply heat the dairy until it is warmed through with the lavender buds added, let steep and get cold in the refrigerator, then scoop out the buds before mixing. The internet has plenty of instruction on infusion – it can even be done without heat, by letting the lavender steep in the cream for several hours in the refrigerator.
Some final notes: I found that ½ tablespoon to the two cups of heavy whipping cream gives the ice cream a nice subtle flavor in combo with the lemon. Other sources say you can use more, and I would encourage experimentation. Purists may squawk at this recipe for not requiring an electric ice cream maker, but this recipe is really easy and produces a rich and delicious result that I think rivals any high-end product on the market. It pairs well with vanilla or citrus- flavored cakes.
Software:
½ tablespoon (or more) Culinary Lavender
3 egg yolks*
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
4 teaspoons Lemon Emulsion
2 cups heavy cream, whipped
Hardware:
Stand mixer and metal bowl with Whisk attachment- Chilled
Saucepan/ metal bowl for stove top
Separate mixing bowl
Small mesh strainer
Hand mixing tools
9 by 5-inch loaf pan lined with foil
Directions:
Start by placing your metal stand-mixer bowl and Whisk attachment in your freezer to get cold before working. Place the 2 cups of heavy cream in a metal bowl together with the lavender over a pan of simmering water and stir briefly. Let cream become thoroughly heated all the way through, stirring occasionally. When cream is hot and approaching a simmer, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Transfer bowl to refrigerator to let cream get cold before proceeding (NOTE: You can also place cream in saucepan over direct heat, careful to let cream reach a simmer without burning)
When your infused cream has gotten completely cold, proceed with the next steps.
Beat the egg yolks and stir in the condensed milk and lemon extract in a separate bowl and set aside. Remove your cream from the refrigerator and use fine the mesh strainer to remove and discard lavender buds. Retrieve your metal mixing bowl and Wisk attachment from your freezer and attach to stand mixer. Add your heavy cream to the mixer and whip until it thickens and looks smooth. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in the egg yolk/condensed milk/ lemon extract mixture using a spatula until well combined. Pour mixture into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan lined with foil. Cover and freeze for 6 hours or overnight, until firm.
To serve, scoop ice cream from pan or cut into slices.
(NOTE: I am including Food network’s warning and the source of the base recipe:)
*RAW EGG WARNING
Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.
Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen
Read more at: Easy Homemade Ice Cream on Food Network
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