hand and scissors cutting lavendar stems in sunny gardenYield: 1 quart

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2-3 tablespoons fresh lavender
3/4 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light in color and fluffy, set aside.

In a medium sized sauce pan, bring the cream, milk, and lavender to a slight boil being very careful not to scorch the milk.  Once the milk and cream mixture begins to boil, whisk a couple of tablespoons of the cream mixture into the egg mixture to temper* it.  Return to the sauce pan and add the rest of the sugar mixture.  Bring it to a boil, stirring regularly, until the temperature reaches 175F (or when the custard coats the back of a spoon).  Place in the refrigerator and chill completely.

Once the ice cream is chilled, strain the lavender and discard.  Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

*Tempering is when you add a little of the hot liquid to the cool liquid to raise the temperature of the cool liquid without cooking it too fast.