Ever since my imaginary mom Meryl Streep uttered the words ‘lavender-honey ice cream’ in the timeless classic movie It’s Complicated, (I don’t need to have any other reason to love this movie other than that it’s basically all about food), I’ve wanted to make lavender-honey ice cream. Here’s the thing though– I’ve had lavender-honey ice cream, and I don’t think it’s that good. The floral flavor kind of becomes one-note, and then becomes overwhelming very quickly. I don’t know about you, but when I eat ice cream, I want to eat a lot of it. Some time later, while watching season 9 of GBBO, my imaginary BFF Kim-Joy mentioned that she once ate a lavender and lemon curd ice cream. And I knew, at that moment, Lavender Ice Cream with Lemon Curd Swirl would be the best. ice cream. flavor. ever!

Lavender Ice Cream With Lemon Curd | Homemade Ice Cream Recipes — I used a combination of purple and pink gel food coloring to achieve a purple hue in the lavender ice cream!

Lavender Ice Cream With Lemon Curd Swirl Recipe

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5 from 1 vote

Lavender + Lemon Curd Ice Cream

Servings: 48 -ish oz Ice Cream

Ingredients

For The Lemon Curd:

3 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
4 tbsp butter cut into tbsps

For The Lavender Ice Cream Base:

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp food grade lavender buds
6 large egg yolks

Instructions

Prepare The Lemon Curd:

In a heat-proof bowl, beat the egg yolks for 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat 1 minute more. Stir in the lemon juice and zest.
Create a double boiler by placing the heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water, being sure the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the water. Adjust heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook the egg mixture over the simmering water, stirring nearly constantly, until it reduces and thickens, about 10–20 minutes. (The curd has thickened enough when the spoon leaves a trail.)
Stir in the butter 1 tbsp at a time, allowing to melt completely before adding more. Remove the curd from the heat and pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a storage jar, using a spoon to work the curd through.
Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.

Prepare The Lavender Ice Cream Base:

In a small pot over medium-low heat, simmer the cream, milk, sugar, salt, and lavender until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and let stand 10 minutes more to infuse the lavender. Remove from the heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks for 1 minute. Slowly whisk 1/3 of the hot cream mixture into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream mixture.
Return the pot to medium-low heat, and cook while whisking to 170F. The mixture will slightly thicken, and should coat back of a spoon.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. You may add food coloring at this stage-- be sure to stir REALLY well if you use gel food coloring. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 4 hours, or up to overnight.

Make Ice Cream Magic:

Churn the lavender ice cream base according to machine instructions. Immediately after churning, fold in the lemon curd, leaving ribbons of curd throughout. Spread into a large pan or pack into freezer-safe containers and freeze to set.