Lavender & Honeycomb Ice Cream

Soft floral notes, golden honey sweetness, and crisp honeycomb candy folded into lavender-infused cream.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup honey
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon culinary dried lavender
• 4 large egg yolks
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Coloring option:
  • 1 to 3 drops natural purple food coloring or
  • ½ teaspoon dried butterfly pea flowers
• ½ cup honeycomb candy, broken into small chunks
• Pinch of salt

Infuse the Cream

1. In a saucepan, combine heavy cream, milk, honey, sugar, salt, and lavender.
2. If using butterfly pea flowers, add them now.
3. Heat over medium until steaming but not boiling.
4. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep 15 to 20 minutes.

Taste at 15 minutes. Strain once the lavender (and butterfly pea, if used) flavor is lightly floral. Do not over-steep.

Make the Custard

1. Whisk egg yolks in a bowl.
2. Slowly pour about 1 cup of the warm cream mixture into the yolks while whisking.
3. Return everything to the saucepan.
4. Cook over medium-low, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Chill and Tint

1. Strain the custard into a clean bowl, removing the lavender (and butterfly pea flowers, if used).
2. Stir in the vanilla.
3. Add color if desired:
   • If using natural purple food coloring, add 1 drop at a time until a soft lavender shade appears.
   • If using butterfly pea flowers, the custard should already have a subtle bluish-purple hue—no additional coloring is needed.
4. Cover and refrigerate to chill the base.

A fully chilled base churns better and produces a smooth, creamy texture.

Churn

Pour into your Whynter 0.8-quart ice cream maker and churn for 30-60 minutes or until it reaches soft-serve consistency.

Fold and Freeze

Gently fold in honeycomb pieces just before transferring to a freezer container. Work quickly to keep the honeycomb crisp.

Tips

• Use culinary lavender only.
• Keep the color soft and natural—just a hint of lavender.
• Butterfly pea flower produces a subtle bluish-purple; natural food coloring is more controllable.
• For a lighter texture, reduce egg yolks to 3.
• A thin drizzle of warm honey between layers adds visual appeal and flavor depth.