Chocolate Lavender Ice Cream
While I’m not working, I’ve set several cooking and baking goals. One of them is to make a broader variety ice creams. So far I’ve made Cherry Lime , Bourbon Caramel & Pecan , and Cinnamon (along with Lemon Rosemary before I stopped working). While I’ve enjoyed each and every one of those, they’ve all been made with a vanilla custard base. 
I wanted something a little different this time so I went with chocolate. I didn’t want just any chocolate, so one of Derek’s coworkers suggested adding lavender (thanks Claudia!). I was intrigued! I bought a jar of dried lavender at Williams Sonoma, but you can also find it on Amazon, in the bulk spice/herb section of a grocery store, or at a natural foods store.
Let’s get to the ice cream!
Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until it’s pale yellow. Keep the egg whites because you can use them in scrambles, macarons, or be 2/3 of the way to an Angel Food Cake. 😉
Put the milk in a sauce pan and whisk in the cocoa powder.
Put it over medium heat and add the heavy cream and and lavender and stir. You’re adding the lavender now so it will steep in the milk to flavor it.
Cook it until it starts to bubble and then take it off the heat.
Pour this mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. You can throw out the lavender that’s left in the strainer.
Now you’re going to temper the eggs. Slowly whisk about one cup of the hot milk and cocoa mixture into the yolks and sugar.
Whisk in the rest of the hot cocoa and milk mixture. Next you’ll pour everything back into the pan and cook over medium-low heat. Cook until the mixture coats the back of a rubber spatula, just a few minutes. Take it off the heat and give it a good final stir. Pour it into bowl and put that in the fridge.
Once it’s it chilled, pour it into your ice cream machine to churn. Mine took about ten minutes but it may vary depending on which ice cream maker you have.
Once it’s done churning, put the ice cream in a Tupperware container or bowl and cover. Then it goes in the freezer at least three hours until it’s frozen through.
Scoop, serve and enjoy!
I love this ice cream because it’s chocolatey with just a hint of lavender. Any floral flavor can easily be overwhelming so I didn’t want to take it too far. You get a subtle taste of lavender as you eat it and a flowery after taste.
What’s your favorite kind of ice cream to make?
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 8 large egg yolks
- 9 ounces sugar
- 1 tablespoon lavender
Instructions
- Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow.
- Put the milk in a sauce pan and whisk in the cocoa powder. Put over medium heat and stir in the heavy cream and lavender.
- Cook it until it starts to bubble. Take off the heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. Discard the used lavender.
- Slowly whisk about 1 cup of the hot milk and cocoa mixture into the yolks and sugar. Whisk in the rest of the hot cocoa and milk mixture.
- Pour everything back into the pan and cook over medium-low heat until the mixture coats the back of a rubber spatula, just a few minutes. Take off the heat and stir.
- Pour into bowl and chill in the fridge.
- Pour it into ice cream machine to churn.
- Scoop into a Tupperware container or bowl and cover. Freeze at least 3 hours, or until it's frozen through.
- Scoop, serve and enjoy!
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