Homemade Lavender Ice Cream Food

LAVENDER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat half-and-half to 175°. Remove from the heat; add lavender. Cover and steep for 20 minutes. Strain, discarding lavender., Return to the heat; stir in sugar until dissolved. Whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolks. Return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches at least 160° and coats the back of a metal spoon., Remove from the heat. Cool quickly by placing pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 minutes. Stir in whipping cream. Press waxed paper onto surface of custard. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight., Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer; freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. When ice cream is frozen, transfer to a freezer container; freeze for 2-4 hours before serving.

LAVENDER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Heat the milk and lavender in a 3-quart saucepan over low heat until warmed through. Remove from heat, and allow lavender to infuse for about 20 minutes. Remove flowers.
• Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in large bowl. Whisk the lavender-infused milk into the egg mixture, then pour it back into the saucepan. Heat the mixture over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and can coat the back of a spoon, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and chill in refrigerator at least 4 hours.
• Pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions until it reaches "soft-serve" consistency. Transfer ice cream to a lidded container; cover surface with plastic wrap and seal. For best results, ice cream should be place in the freezer at least 2 hours or overnight.

LAVENDER ICE CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Make the ice cream: Heat the heavy cream, milk, honey, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the lavender and a pinch of salt in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until hot but not boiling, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl; slowly drizzle in 1 cup of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly. Gradually stir the hot egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard is slightly thickened and coats the back of the spoon, about 8 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl; discard the lavender. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice water. Carefully place the bowl of custard in the ice water and let sit, stirring the custard occasionally and adding more ice to the water as needed, until the custard is cold, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Pulse the graham crackers, the remaining 1 heaping tablespoon granulated sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the melted butter. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the side of the prepared pie plate. Bake until lightly browned and set, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack; let cool completely.
• Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions, until it's the consistency of soft-serve. Spread in the cooled crust and sprinkle coarse sugar around the edge. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

HONEY LAVENDER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Bring cream, half-and-half, honey, and lavender just to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, then remove pan from heat. Let steep, covered, 30 minutes.
• Pour cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard lavender. Return mixture to cleaned saucepan and heat over moderate heat until hot.
• Whisk together eggs and salt in a large bowl, then add 1 cup hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Pour into remaining hot cream mixture in saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 to 175°F on thermometer, about 5 minutes (do not let boil).
• Pour custard through sieve into cleaned bowl and cool completely, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.
• Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

HONEY LAVENDER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine milk, lavender, and honey. Bring to a gentle boil, cover, and remove from heat. Let steep for 5 minutes. Strain mixture, reserving milk and discarding lavender.
• Combine egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until very thick and pale yellow, 3 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile, return milk to a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
• Add half the milk to egg-yolk mixture, and whisk until blended. Stir mixture into remaining milk, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
• Remove from heat, and immediately stir in cream. Strain mixture into a medium mixing bowl set in an ice-water bath, and let stand until chilled, stirring from time to time. Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Store in an airtight plastic container up to 2 weeks.

LAVENDER HONEY ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Heat heavy cream, half-and-half, honey, and lavender flowers in a heavy 2-quart saucepan, stirring occasionally, until cream just starts to bubble. Remove from heat and cover; let steep for 30 minutes.
• Strain cream mixture into a bowl using a fine-mesh sieve. Discard lavender flowers. Clean saucepan and pour strained cream mixture back in. Heat over medium heat until hot, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk eggs and salt together in a bowl. Whisk in 1 cup hot cream in a slow stream.
• Pour egg mixture into the remaining hot cream in the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats the back of the spoon and reads 175 degrees F (80 degrees C) on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes.
• Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Let cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Chill, covered, for at least 3 hours.
• Freeze custard in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions, about 20 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container and place in the freezer to firm up.

LAVENDER (OR PEPPERMINT) ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a small, heavy saucepan, combine cream, milk, sugar, and lavender. Place over medium-high heat and, with a wooden spoon, bruise and crush the herbs against the bottom and sides of pan while bringing mixture just to a boil. Remove from heat. Set aside for 15 minutes to allow the lavender flavor to infuse the cream mixture. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids. Discard the lavender flowers.
• Whisk the eggs in a small bowl. Gradually whisk a ladleful of the cream mixture into the eggs, then pour the eggs back into the cream mixture, whisking.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring gently, for about 8 to 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Do not boil. Transfer this mixture to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until cold.
• Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.
• Peppermint Ice Cream: Substitute 1/2 cup firmly packed clean, fresh peppermint leaves (1/4 cup dried) for the lavender. Proceed as above.
• Optional: The leaves won't give up much of their green color, so you can add 1 or 2 drops of red or green food coloring. Also, you can add a handful of crushed peppermint candies just 1 second, not 2, before turning off the ice cream maker.