Lavender ice cream is a rich and silky custard flavored with fresh lavender and sweetened with honey. Consider this your new favorite ice cream.
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Every summer, lavender is abundant. It’s beautiful, nostalgic, and epitomizes the season. It’s also a perennial, so you can plant it once and expect it to return the following season.
Planting lavender around your home offers many benefits. It acts as a repellant for pests like mosquitos and ticks and produces brightly colored, fragrant blooms that attract bees and butterflies.
When cold temperatures come, I’m always so sad to see my lavender go.
Thankfully, lavender can be enjoyed all year long when dried and stored away.
I use lavender in our all-natural sunscreen, as well as in homemade lavender sugar scrub (which is a great gift, by the way), in calming hot tea, lavender syrup, or a delicious iced lavender latte. It’s also so lovely dried and displayed throughout the home.
The focus of this post, however, is homemade lavender ice cream.
With lavender ice cream, fresh lavender flowers and leaves are steeped into a milk, cream, and honey custard until reaching that perfect, delicate floral flavor.
The mixture is then chilled and churned, developing into a light, creamy, and delicious frozen dessert. You can add fresh lavender buds right from the garden for a stunning pop of purple.
It’s both delicious and beautiful.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Naturally sweetened: Not only is honey a better option than white sugar for the nutritional benefits, but it also lends a creamier texture to the ice cream and pairs well with the lavender flavor. Another favorite is this date sweetened ice cream.
Amazing flavor: Lavender and cream are a phenomenal combination; unusual, yet delicious. The custard is rich and smooth, and the floral notes can be adjusted with more or less lavender and steeping time.
Whole-food ingredients: Nothing weird here – just natural and simple ingredients that are easy to find.
Ingredients
Whole milk and heavy cream – This combination produces the creamiest texture because of the higher fat content of heavy cream (heavy whipping cream is the same as heavy cream but with a different name).
Honey – Honey is a natural sweetener and adds to the silky, smooth texture.
Fresh lavender leaves and flowers – This is what the recipe is all about! Fresh blooms and leaves add that beautifully distinct lavender flavor. I love making this recipe in the summer when my lavender bushes are in full bloom. If you don’t have your own lavender, you can typically find fresh lavender bouquets at the farmers market or some natural grocery stores.
Egg yolks – A custard base needs eggs. Egg yolks add another layer of richness to the ice cream.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools you will need:
Ice cream machine (optional)
How to Make Lavender Ice Cream
Step 1: Combine milk, cream, honey, salt, and lavender in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and stir well to ensure the honey is dissolved and all ingredients are combined.
Step 2: Remove from heat and allow the lavender to steep in the mixture for around 30 minutes, tasting occasionally to get the flavor right where you want it. If you’re going for a more subtle lavender flavor, shorten the steeping time. Strain the lavender from the mixture and return the mixture to the pot. You will want to strain the lavender so you’re not chewing into the leaves.
Step 3: Place the cream mixture back over medium-low heat. Once hot, whisk egg yolks separately in a small bowl. Gradually whisk 1⁄2 cup of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks, stirring quickly and steadily to temper the yolks and prevent curdling.
Step 4: Add this egg mixture to the remaining cream mixture in the medium saucepan, whisking well. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for around 10 minutes or until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Step 5: Chill the custard by pouring it into a bowl and refrigerating for a few hours. After it has chilled, pour the custard into your ice cream maker. You can add lavender buds now if you’d like. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for making the ice cream.
Step 6: Once the ice cream is thickened, pour it into a freezer-safe container and freeze for a minimum of four hours before serving.
Tips For Making Lavender Ice Cream
- This ice cream can have a strong or subtle flavor depending on how much lavender you use and how long you steep it. Keep in mind that a little can go a long way.
- Save the leftover egg whites from this recipe for an omelet or angel food cake, or use it as an egg wash on some soft, sourdough discard rolls.
- Check the ingredients in your cream. It should only say simple things like cream and milk. Some cream companies add stabilizers and other unnecessary ingredients.
- Ensure your ice cream machine canister is frozen completely before using it. You will want to make sure the custard mixture is completely chilled before churning, as this is also very important.
- You could easily make this recipe with dried “culinary grade” lavender during the winter months. Just taste the mixture as it steeps to monitor the strength of flavor.
Recipe FAQ
Yes, lavender flowers, leaves, and stems are edible from your garden. In stores, you may notice lavender labeled “culinary” (lavandula angustifolia), which is most popular for personal consumption because it contains less oil than other varieties.
Lavender ice cream is sweet and creamy with a floral taste. Some people enjoy the taste of lavender and find it calming, while others describe it as having a soapy taste. Everyone’s taste buds are a little different, so just know your crowd before you invest time and ingredients in a large batch. But really….it’s delicious.
After the ice cream is churned, place it into an airtight container with a lid and freeze for 2 to 3 months.
To make ice cream without an ice cream maker, pour the prepared custard mixture into a glass baking dish and freeze for an hour. After an hour, scrape down the sides to incorporate what has frozen into the rest of the mixture. Freeze for an additional 30 minutes and scrape down the sides again. Repeat until the ice cream is fully frozen.
Alternatively, chill the lavender ice cream base, pour it into a gallon-sized, freezer-safe bag, store it flat, and freeze. Once frozen, break it apart into smaller pieces and place it in a blender or food processor (I’ve had better results with a food processor). Blend until smooth and creamy. Enjoy it right away, or store it in an airtight container and refreeze for later.
More Ice Cream Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
- Chai Ice Cream
- Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream
- Java Chip Ice Cream
- Dairy-Free Date Sweetened Ice Cream
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Honey Lavender Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup honey
- Pinch salt
- 3/4 tbsp fresh lavender leaves and flowers
- 5 large egg yolks
Instructions
- Combine milk, cream, honey, salt, and lavender in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and stir well to ensure the honey is dissolved and all ingredients are combined.
- Remove from heat and allow the lavender to steep in the mixture for around 30 minutes, tasting occasionally to get the flavor right where you want it.
- Strain the lavender from the mixture and return the mixture to the pot. You will want to strain the lavender so you’re not chewing into the leaves.
- Place the cream mixture back over medium-low heat. Once hot, whisk egg yolks separately in a small bowl. Gradually whisk 1⁄2 cup of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks, stirring quickly and steadily to temper the yolks and prevent curdling.
- Add this egg mixture to the remaining cream mixture in the medium saucepan, whisking well.
- Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for around 10 minutes or until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Chill the custard by pouring it into a bowl and refrigerating for a few hours.
- After it has chilled, pour the custard into your ice cream maker. You can add lavender buds now if you’d like. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for making the ice cream.
- Once the ice cream is thickened, pour it into a freezer-safe container and freeze for a minimum of four hours before serving.
Notes
- This ice cream can have a strong or subtle flavor depending on how much lavender you use and how long you steep it. Keep in mind that a little can go a long way.
- If you’re going for a more subtle lavender flavor, shorten the steeping time.
- Ensure your ice cream machine canister is frozen completely before using it. You will want to make sure the custard mixture is completely chilled before churning, as this is also very important.
- You could easily make this recipe with dried “culinary grade” lavender during the winter months. Just taste the mixture as it steeps to monitor the strength of flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hey Lisa, Is it normal for custard to curdle up? I’ve tried the recipe twice. First it curdle so I thought maybe milk or eggs weren’t fresh enough. I tried again with fresh ingredients and it curdle again. Is it normal do you think?
If your temperature is getting above 185, it could cause your custard to curdle!
The creamiest ice cream ever.
Can I omit the egg yolks without compromising too much the recipe?
You probably could, but I haven’t tried it. I imagine it would just be a little less creamy. Let me know how it goes, if you decide to try it!
Thanks! I will 🙂