This is one of my new favorite things. I’d eat it any time of year (and I plan to), but the bright flavor of lavender flowers paired with this light gelato base makes a particularly refreshing treat on a warm summer day. It’s great with summer fruit, but the flavor is full and complex enough to savor on its own, which is the way I’ve been eating it this week — mostly straight out of the freezer. The flavor is a little unusual, but still very accessible — more herbal than floral or perfume-like. Julia loves it.
Besides being light and refreshing, the base for this gelato is also quick and simple to make. Because there are no eggs, there are no yolks to separate and no need to carefully control the cooking temperature to prevent the custard base from “breaking” into a nasty scrambled egg soup. The recipe relies on corn starch and corn syrup (in place of some of the sugar) instead of the fat and protein from lots of cream and egg yolks to give the ice cream body and shine.
Recipe
(makes 1 quart or 1 liter of gelato)
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons lavender buds (culinary grade –available in stores with good spice selections and online at places such as www.thespicehouse.com)
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
1. Whisk together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of the milk. Set aside.
2. Place the milk, cream, salt, and lavender in a saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium high heat, and then turn off the heat, cover and let steep for about 30 minutes.
2. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the lavender buds, and return it to the saucepan. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry, the corn syrup and the sugar and bring the mixture to the boil again over medium high heat. Strain again into a bowl.
3. Chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours, or, if you’re in a hurry, chill in an ice bath for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions until it’s the consistency of soft serve. Eat several generous spoonfuls and then swiftly transfer the rest to a metal or plastic container (preferably frozen) and place in the freezer for about 2 hours before serving.
Enjoy!
