Lavender Vanilla Ice Cream

The flavor I chose to make this week was an accident.  I had the intention of making a Lavender Vanilla Ice Cream but not this week.  I was making a base for another ice cream when I accidently added sugar instead of honey, leaving me with a plain vanilla base.  I have made vanilla ice cream plenty of times, and you all know how I prefer fruit or chocolate, so I had to think of something to add to the mix.  I searched the spice rack and found my stash of lavender.  In the past I made a Lavender Honey Ice Cream, which was tasty but I thought the lavender flavor was a little to strong for my taste.  I decided to add lavender to my accidental vanilla base to see how the vanilla helped balance the floral flavor.

Let me just say that accidents happen for a reason.  The lavender and vanilla are both floral in nature but add different notes and turned out to be excellent compliments.  I actually favor this flavor over the lavender honey.  Last night I topped a scoop with some melted chocolate and it was heaven.

I hope you have a happy accident in your life this week.  Enjoy!

Lavender Vanilla Ice Cream
Adapted from ice cream base recipe by Jeni Britton Bauer

2 cups (500 ml) whole milk
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (11 g) cornstarch
3 Tablespoon (1.5 oz, 44 g) cream cheese, softened
1 ¼ cups (313 ml) heavy cream
1 Tablespoon dried lavender
2/3 cup cane sugar
1/8 cup corn syrup (30 ml)
1 8" vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (I prefer Madagascar vanilla)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. In another large bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth.  Set a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and set aside.

Combine the remaining milk with heavy cream, sugar, and corn syrup, dried lavender and vanilla bean and seeds in a large saucepan.  Bring milk mixture to a boil.  Cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves, 4 minutes (must be exact for correct consistency). Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

Gradually pour the hot milk mixture (through the sieve) into the cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Whisk in salt. Set the bowl in the ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cool, about 20 minutes.

Chill the mixture thoroughly (at least 4 hours or overnight). Once chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Place plastic or parchment over ice cream (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.