Vanilla earl grey lavender ice cream is a creamy tea flavored ice cream with a hint of vanilla.
The ice cream base is made by tempering eggs to make it have a rich flavoring.
Earl grey is steeped into the milk while making the base of the ice cream to add the tea flavor.
Lavender is added to infuse the ice cream with a earthy lavender taste.
How to use lavender from the garden in baking
When your lavender is in full bloom and ready to harvest, cut the stems below the flowers. Dry your lavender by with laying them near a sunny window or tie them together and hang them upside down.
Culinary Lavender vs Garden Lavender
Do you need to use culinary lavender instead of lavender from the garden?
No you don’t need to use culinary lavender in your baking. You can use your fresh lavender from the garden.
Why?
Culinary lavender gives off a sweet fragrance. Your lavender from the garden might not be as sweet, so it might not give you the perfect flavor you’re wanting. The more sweet the lavender, the more intense lavender flavor it will give you.
I don’t use the stems when I use lavender from my garden. The most sweet part of lavender are the flowers, so I just put the flowers/buds into my baking.
If you wanted to try out using lavender in different recipes you can try grinding up the lavender using a mortar and pestle. Then add it to some sugar to give you that rich sugar/lavender-perfect for your morning coffee with a hint of lavender!
What can you bake with lavender flowers from the garden?
- lavender ice cream
- lavender cookies
- lavender lemonade
- lavender shortbread
- lavender scones
Vanilla Earl Grey Lavender Ice Cream
Equipment
- Ice Cream Maker
Materials
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups half and half
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup dried lavender
- 1 tea bag earl grey tea
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Purple gel food coloring optional
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan (make sure it holds >1.5 liters) combine the heavy cream and half and half together. Add lavender to the saucepan without the stems. Bring to a gentle simmer for a couple of minutes over medium heat.
- Remove your saucepan from the burner. Add earl grey tea bag to the pot and let steep for 4 minutes. Remove and discard the tea bag.
- In a large bowl whisk egg yolks and sugar together. Gradually temper the eggs by adding a bit of the hot cream mixture (couple of tablespoons at first) to the eggs and whisk vigorously to make sure not to cook the eggs. Add all of the hot mixture to the bowl gradually until it’s all incorporated.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat until the mixture thickens (couple of min).
- Remove the saucepan from the burner. Use your large bowl from before and add your food colouring if desired. Place a mesh sieve on the bowl and pour your hot egg/cream mixture through the sieve. Whisk the food coloring until it’s combined. Add the vanilla extract. Let cool to room temperature/cold enough to put in the fridge. Refrigerate overnight. Freeze your ice cream bowl overnight as well.
- Pour mixture into your ice cream machine and churn for 20-25 min.
- Freeze for a few hours to let it harden up before serving.
Notes
Happy Baking!
