Since March I have been, very slowly, transforming my yard. We inherited a beast of a property, which is fantastic for kids, but the landscape was not well maintained. Weeds, overgrown trees, and dead shrubs abounded. Plus faulty irrigation lines and a slew of annuals and water sucking plants filled the planter beds.

So in my journey to reshape my garden, I have been learning a lot about plants and how to build a beautiful, low maintenance, drought tolerant, all season landscape. I’ve been very fortunate to have tons of help and mentoring from my neighbors and friends, and one of the plants they taught me to include in my garden is lavender. And I am now quite obsessed.

And by obsessed I mean that I have planted no less than eight munstead English lavender, and I have schemes to add even more! Here’s why: first of all, it’s beautiful and so aromatic. I love purple flowers, and the soothing smell of lavender cannot be beat. Munstead lavender in particular is a very low maintenance, long lived perennial. It can even live up to 15 years! And once established, it requires little watering, perfect for dry Colorado. Best of all, this varietal is ideal not only for cooking, but also for making dried arrangements and sachets. So even when the season changes, I will still be able to enjoy dried lavender from my own garden. Win!

This ice cream recipe calls for fresh lavender clipped straight from the plant. However; you could substitute 2 TBS. of dried lavender, and still have a wonderful ice cream. But if you do not already grow lavender, consider adding it to your collection. It’s one of the most useful and beautiful plants I can imagine.

As far as the ice cream goes, this recipe is a very traditional, custard based, churned ice cream. It’s a bit of extra work, but trust me, the consistency and flavor of this super creamy recipe are worth every bit of patient egg tempering and stirring.

And when I say creamy, I mean creamy! And so beautifully flavored: the lavender is lovely, and floral, and balanced perfectly by the delicate notes of honey and the smooth cold, custard. If you’re trying to impress, look no farther than this ice cream! Serve in a retro ice cream dish, and garnish your scoops with a fresh lavender sprig, and there’s truly nothing more elegant.

If you’ve never made custard for ice cream before, do not be intimidated! As long as you’re patient and follow the instructions carefully, you’ll have a gorgeous dessert and a new culinary skill to boot.

Lavender Honey Ice Cream - Makes about 1 quart

Equipment:

• Ice cream maker

• Fine mesh sieve

• Freezer safe container

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 3 large egg yolks

• 1/4 cup sugar

• Pinch kosher salt

• 1/2 cup honey

• Fresh munstead lavender flowers from 10 sprigs, or 2 TBS. dried

Method:

1. In a medium bowl whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until the sugar begins to dissolve and the mixture becomes slightly thickened and pale yellow. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, cream, lavender, and honey over medium heat until just boiling. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and steep for 30 minutes to infuse the lavender flavor.

3. After 30 minutes, strain the lavender out of the cream. Return the strained cream back to the saucepan and heat over medium low until just before boiling. You should see steam but no bubbles.

4. Temper the eggs. While whisking continuously, slowly drizzle about 1/4 cup of hot cream into the egg yolk mixture. Whisk until the cream is fully incorporated, and then continue adding cream in 1/4 cup portions, continuously whisking, until about half of the cream has been added. Then, again continuously whisking, slowly pour the egg mixture back into the pan with the remaining cream. Return the pan to medium low heat. Continue to stir constantly, and cook until the custard has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. You’ll know it’s ready when it looks like melted ice cream and reaches between 170-175ºF. Be careful never to bring the mixture to a boil.

5. Pour the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Allow the custard to cool enough to refrigerate. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours.

6. Once the custard is cold, freeze it in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the churned ice cream to a freezer safe container, and store it in the freezer until ready to eat. I recommend freezing for several hours before eating.

Munstead lavender information sourced from the Spruce

Recipe adapted from epicurious