This homemade lavender ice cream is made with honey and real lavender flowers for a delicate, floral ice cream that sings of sweet, sunny spring days.
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This lavender and honey ice cream is the spring flavor you didn't know you needed. Made by infusing edible lavender flowers into the ice cream base, the result is a delicate, fragrant ice cream that's both calming and delicious.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Naturally flavored with real lavender flowers.
- Pretty purple hue that's great for Mother's Day or Valentine's Day.
- Unique floral flavor that's perfect for a spring garden party or tea party.
Love a good floral ice cream? Why not try making my fragrant rose ice cream or fresh, herbaceous pandan ice cream. Or if you are in the mood for more delectable ice cream check out my full collection of Cuisinart ice cream maker recipes (that work well in other brands' ice cream makers too!).
Ingredients
Edible dried lavender flowers: are a simple and fresh way to infuse floral lavender flavor into this ice cream. You MUST use only edible lavender flowers. Look out for lavender tea but make sure it has only lavender flowers and not a combination of lavender flowers and black tea.
Honey: a natural complement to this floral ice cream and helps keep it sweet and scoopable. Look for mild-tasting honey so as not to compete too much with the delicate lavender flavor.
Granulated sugar: also known as white sugar, is best in this recipe. You could use caster sugar if you prefer.
Thickened cream: I use thickened cream which has a fat content of about 34%. You could also use heavy cream or heavy whipping or whipping cream which is similar.
Milk: This recipe uses full-fat milk with a fat content of about 3.5%.
Tapioca starch: is a natural and accessible way of both thickening and stabilizing the ice cream. If you can't get tapioca starch you can use arrowroot powder or cornflour in the same volume.
Optional:
Purple food color: despite the beautiful purple color of lavender flowers, this ice cream is naturally a pale creamy color. Add a pop of pastel color with some purple food coloring if you like.
How to make lavender ice cream
See the full recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient amounts and instructions.
Measure the milk. Add about two tablespoons of the milk to a small bowl with the tapioca starch. Mix well to form a slurry.
Add the cream, granulated sugar and honey to a small pot on the stove. Heat on low and stir until the sugar and honey are dissolved.
Add the tapioca starch slurry, stir well and heat for a further minute or two. Remove from heat, transfer to a heatproof container and cool.
Add the rest of the milk to a bowl. Add the edible lavender flowers and mix well. Steep for fifteen minutes in the fridge. Strain and catch the lavender-infused milk, pressing down on the flowers to remove as much milk as possible.
Add the lavender-flavored milk to the rest of the ice cream base and food coloring if using, and mix well. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least four hours, preferably overnight.
Hot tip: don't have purple food colouring? You can make your own by using three drops of red and one drop of blue food coloring. To achieve this delicate pastel purple color I used nine drops of red food colour and three drops of blue.
Put your ice cream storage container in the freezer to chill. If you have a self-chilling ice cream machine turn it on about ten minutes before churning your ice cream for it to chill. Other wise remove your freezer bowl from the freezer right before churning.
Add the ice cream mix and churn the ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft serve when done. Transfer to the chilled container and freeze until firm.
How to serve
To serve this lavender flower ice cream scoop it into a bowl and enjoy! Fabulous on its own or with a little extra honey drizzled over the top. Delicious!
A note on decoration - for photographic purposes I decorated my ice cream in these shots with a sprinkling of dried lavender flowers. Because it looks pretty right? However after I'd finished photographing and we actually ate the ice cream we discovered that lavender flowers don't actually taste very good when you eat them whole 😀
So I recommend sticking to using the flowers to add flavor to the ice cream, but maybe not to sprinkle on top for eating 🙂
How to store
In the freezer: in an airtight container for up to a month. After this it will still be fine to eat, but may start to go icy over time.
Tips for success and frequently asked questions
Where can I get edible lavender flowers?
Try the major online retailers such as Amazon, Walmart or specialty tea shops. If you get lavender tea make sure it's pure lavender flowers and not mixed with black tea.
Does it matter what type of lavender I use?
In theory, yes it matters. English lavender is sweeter and best for cooking. French lavender can taste too strong or medicinal. If your lavender smells floral, you're good. If it smells medicinal or like soap, use less or skip it.
Having said this the edible dried lavender I brought for cooking didn't say which variety it was, and worked just fine. It had a sweeter smell, so I presume it was English lavender.
Can I make this with fresh lavender?
In theory yes, but I haven't tested it with fresh or homegrown lavender. Critically, you must ensure the lavender hasn't been treated with any sprays or chemicals that could make the lavender flowers unsafe for human consumption.
Can I make this without the purple food colouring?
Yes, simply leave it out if you prefer. Your ice cream will be a delicate, very pale creamy color if you do this. Interestingly brewed lavender flowers make a yellow coloured liquid, not purple as you might think 🙂
Can I make this without the honey?
Yes you can make it without honey, but if you are going to do this I would replace it with the same amount of sugar instead. I also recommend adding 1 and ¼ flat teaspoons (10gms) of glucose syrup instead, or your ice cream will freeze very hard.
My ice cream doesn't taste much of lavender...
This can happen if the lavender you are using doesn't have much flavor to infuse into the milk. Try using more lavender next time.
Failing that you could try adding one or two drops of edible lavender extract to help naturally pump up the lavender flavor. Do not use regular lavender essential oil. It's not fit for human consumption unless it specifically says it is. Always check your flavoring is food grade and fit for human consumption.
Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on instagram so I can see your delicious creations! @keep_calm_and_eat_icecream
More yummy floral dessert inspiration!
Why not try making
- Hoky Pokey Ice Cream
- Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream - made with real garden mint
- Early Grey Ice Cream
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📋 Recipe
Lavender Ice Cream
Equipment
- ice cream churner
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons (5gms) tapioca starch
- 1 & ½ cups (375ml) full cream milk
- 1 & ¾ cups (440ml) thickened cream
- ½ cup (120gms) granulated sugar
- 1 flat teaspoon mild tasting honey
- ½ cup (30gms) lightly packed, dried, edible lavender flowers
Optional
- several drops Purple food coloring (make your own by using three drops of red to every one drop of blue. I used 9 drops red and three drops blue).
Instructions
- Measure the milk. Remove about two tablespoons and put aside in a small bowl for the rest of the base.
- Add the rest of the cold milk and the edible lavender flowers into a jug or bowl and mix well. Cover and chill in the fridge for fifteen minutes to infuse.
- Once infused, strain the milk from the lavender flowers, pressing down to remove as much of the rose-infused milk as possible. Cover and chill in fridge until needed.
- Mix the tapioca starch to the reserved milk and mix to form a slurry.
- Add the cream, sugar and honey to a small pot on the stove.
- Heat on medium heat until just starting to bubble, then turn down. Stir until sugars are all dissolved.
- Add the tapioca starch slurry and mix well. Turn off heat and allow to cool.
- Add the infused lavender milk and mix well.
- Chill the mix in the fridge for at least four hours, ideally overnight.
- Chill your ice cream storage container in the freezer while you churn the ice cream.
- Turn on your ice cream machine ten minutes before churning if using a self churning machine. Otherwise remove the canaster from freezer just before churning.
- Pour the ice cream mix into the machine and churn the ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft serve when done.
- Transfer the churned ice cream into a chilled container and freeze until firm.
- Scoop and enjoy!
Notes
- Only use edible lavender flowers. Regular lavender flowers can be sprayed with chemicals that are not safe to consume. Only use edible lavender flowers from a reputable source.
- The edible lavender flowers should be enough to flavor the ice cream on their own. But if the flavor is too weak for your liking, or you can't get edible lavender flowers you can try a dash of edible lavender essence.
- You can leave the ice cream a beautiful, natural pale creamy color, or add a few drops of purple food color to pump up the purple hue.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online database. The nutritional content of ingredients may vary by brand. If you require accurate nutritional information, you should calculate this based on the specific brands and products you are using.
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