Summer Lavender Harvest
“It was a fair place even in the summer when the sun laced into it. A line of river willows and sycamores banded it in the middle, and the western hills were yellow-brown with feed.”
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
Between Monterey and Santa Barbara lavender farming is thriving in California. Just inland from the coast in the area between Paseo Robles and Santa Ynez the Mediterranean like climate is perfect for lavender cultivation. It was time for a road trip to Paseo Robles to visit the lavender fields of Central Coast Lavender before they closed for their annual harvest and the local Lavender Festival. The farm was quiet and calm; yet the bees hovered and buzzed about as lavender was bundled in preparation for the weekly farmer’s market. It was a warm afternoon filled with all things lavender.
I had used lavender in savory recipes, keeping Herbes de Provence in my spice cupboard. But I had yet to try using lavender in a sweet dessert. Summer and the lavender harvest coalesced into a time of sweet exploration. While at Central Coast Lavender I purchased an extraordinary dried culinary lavender. The tiny delicate buds are a regal deep purple and capture the intense hot fragrance of summer in a jar.
Essentials
Ice cream is a favorite summer dessert. Cream, sugar and eggs mixed into a classic custard; then churned and transformed into a glorious frozen treat. I added a dose of vanilla with the heady floral lavender and then a touch of citrus. Adding candied orange peel to the ice cream is optional. But it pairs well with the vanilla and offers a contrast in taste and texture to the lavender for a creamy, frozen treat.
Cooking with lavender is a delicate balance. Too little and the lavender floats away like a butterfly on an afternoon breeze. Too much lavender and it becomes overpowering. The scent and flavor becoming heavy, medicinal and with the taste of a pine forest. Calculating how much lavender to use is the key to success with this recipe. If your lavender is extremely fresh, a vibrant deep purple and is strongly scented; use the smaller amount, 1 tablespoon. If your lavender is older, has a mellow aroma and is a soft pale violet in color, use up to 2 tablespoons. When cooking always use culinary lavender, grown without chemicals or pesticides.
| Ingredients | |
| 2C | whole milk |
| 1-1/2C | heavy cream |
| 2 | vanilla beans |
| 1-2T + 1/2t | dried culinary lavender |
| 4 | egg yolks |
| 3/4C | sugar |
| 3 drops | purple food coloring |
| 1 drop | red food coloring |
| 2T + 1t | very finely minced orange peel, optional |
- Combine the milk, cream and 1-2T of the lavender in a saucepan. Slightly flatten the vanilla beans using a spoon or knife handle so they lie flat on the cutting board. Cut the beans open and scrape the seeds into the saucepan. Add the vanilla bean pods to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, adjust the heat and simmer for thirty minutes, stir often.
- Strain the mixture to remove the lavender buds and vanilla bean pods. Scrape the saucepan clean to capture all the tiny brown vanilla seeds at the bottom of the pan. Working quickly, thoroughly wipe clean the saucepan of any residue before proceeding.
- While the milk mixture simmers mix together the egg yolks and sugar in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until creamy and lemony in color, two to three minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly pour a cup of the hot milk mixture into the eggs and sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined. Pour both the hot milk and the egg mixture back into the clean saucepan. Capture all the little brown specks of vanilla. Stir to combine and cook on medium low heat until the custard mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Do not boil.
- Add the food coloring, a drop at a time and mix thoroughly. Stop adding food coloring when you are satisfied with the lavender color. I used a ratio of three parts purple and one part red to achieve the pale lavender color. Using just purple with the strong color of the vanilla left the ice cream a bit dreary. Adding a tiny bit of red achieved the color of lavender buds. Less is more when it comes to food coloring. (Except when splurging on Red Velvet; then there is no turning back!)
- Pour the custard mixture into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Push the wrap down into the bowl, directly on the custard, covering the entire surface. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill. When the custard is thoroughly chilled process in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers directions. During the last five minutes of processing sprinkle the very finely minced orange peel into the mixture.
- When the ice cream is finished processing, freeze until ready to serve. Let the ice cream soften for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with lavender buds and candied orange peel.
- I made Martha Stewart’s Vanilla Malt Cookies to serve with the ice cream. Brimming with creamy malt and a vanilla crunch they are a marvelous accompaniment to the vanilla and citrus laced floral ice cream. But then ice cream and cookies are an irresistible pairing!
I want to build a home in the middle of that lavender field. So fragrant 😀
I believe the owners of the lavender farm live nearby, I am sure they are enveloped in the fragrance! Thank you for commenting Kiran!
So beautiful! I just love your photos. Such a deliciously elegant dessert too, I bet it’s just as inspiring as the photos.
Thank you for the sparkling comment Kate!
Beautiful work, Deb! Floral flavors are so delicate and aromatic when incorporated into ice creams. This looks like a wonderful summer treat!
Thank you Viviane! I had a great time cooking with the lavender.
Love the floral flavours of lavender and the fruity citrus. Check out and register on food52.com, a wonderful food community as this week, they have an ice-cream contest – a great opportunity to share your wonderful recipe
Thank you for your lovely comment!
I’m so glad to have finally discovered your blog. I know you’ve visited mine. I’ve subscribed so I don’t miss any more of your posts.
daisy
Thanks Daisy! Happy to have you as a subscriber!
Your lavender is gorgeous! My mom and I tried planting lavendar this year and I’m still waiting to reap the rewards. The first thing I’m going to make is this ice cream.
The lavender ice cream doesn’t disappoint! I hope your harvest is fruitful so you can try the recipe. Thanks for your kind comment.
What a beautiful post. Love the pictures. I’ve never made anything with lavender. Your ice cream sounds lovely.
Thank you for the delicious comment Barbara!
I have yet to try cooking or baking with lavender, but I’ve heard great things and your photos have definitely sold me. Love the candied orange peel addition.
After making the ice cream with lavender I’ve gotten addicted to adding it to baked goods. It is especially good paired with summer fruit. Thank for for your scrumptious comment!
I don’t think i have ever seen anything as beautiful as those lavender fields… Soooo pretty! And this lavender infused ice cream must have smelled heavenly! Nothing beats the fragrance of fresh lavender!
Thank you for the lovely compliment! The lavender fields were beautiful!
This sounds wonderful! There is a pick-your-own lavender farm within driving distance of us; I think next year I might have to investigate it for culinary purposes!
Oh my goodness, if you get a chance I think you would enjoy visitng the lavender farm! Thank you for dropping by!
How stunning!
So glad you liked my post, thanks!
Such lovely pictures. I love the combination of the vanilla bean, lavender and orange peel in the ice cream. What a treat. Great post, Deb.
Thank you for your sweet comment!
I adore culinary lavender and enjoy baking and cooking with it. I, too, visited a lavender farm last summer and we enjoyed it immensely. The aroma of the farm was divine! Your ice cream looks so summery and fresh and just perfect.
The aroma at the lavender farm is amazing! The day we visited was bright and sunny and it was harvest day. It was wondrous! Thanks for your kind comment Geni.
I MUST try this! Strangely enough, I picked up some lavender on Friday to make a Creme Brulee, but have not yet had the chance. This ice-cream sounds divine and your photos are spectacular. I’ll definitely be back for more!!
Lavendar is such an underrated herb. It goes so well with vanilla! This sounds like it would be delightful to eat on a warm summer day. Wish I had an ice cream maker ( maybe this is my excuse to purchase one) 🙂
Thank you Laurie! I found my ice cream maker at Costco for a very reasonable price.
I can imagine walking around the farm on the waft of a gentle summer’s breeze, and the scent of lavender filling the air! So you had made the ice cream, how clever of you!! and as ever wonderful photos to accompany us on our read
Thank you Claire! It was indeed a lovely afternoon, knee deep in sweet lavender!
This looks divine!!!!! Yum. I’m drooling now.
Making ice cream is a special treat, thanks Callee.
Stunning Deb. Really. I have lavender growing in the garden as I love it and it has the bonus of not being attractive to my marauding hens. But I’ve never tried it in ice cream – inspired and heavenly, especially with your longue du chat-type biscuits. I have a peach, honey and lavender tart that would also go perfectly with it (it’s linked as last year’s recipe on my most recent post, today). Next time I make the cake/tart I will definitely make this ice cream 😀
Thank you Kellie! The Lavender Ice Cream is a special treat!
This is the most fragrant and beautiful ice cream ever!
Thank you for your lovely comment Tiffany!
I just spent a wonderful five days on the island of San Juan. One of the highlights was a visit to a lavender farm. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the rolling hills of purple. I couldn’t help but take dozens of photographs. I’ve never tried lavender ice cream but now I have a good reason to.
Oh, what a terrific vacation! There really is a calm and serene feeling that is part of being in the midst of a field of lavender. I can’t wait to see your photos!
I love lavender vanilla bean ice cream! The orange is a wonderful addition as well, I can only imagine how aromatic this is as you eat it!
The kitchen smells amazing while the lavender and vanilla are simmering. It was difficult to wait until the ice cream finished processing! Thanks for commenting Amy.
I love the color of your ice cream! Lavender and candied orange peel sound lovely together too. Lavender actually grows well in central Texas, but I’ve never visited the fields where it grows. I need to plan a field trip!
Thank you Lisa! I just had to have lavender colored ice cream. Sometimes a few drops of food coloring make all the difference. Visiting the lavender farm was a treat, I highly recommend making the trip. I am already dreaming about attending the Lavender Festival next year!
Beautiful ice cream, I love your pairing of lavender with candied orange peel – a feast!
Thanks Laura! A touch of candied orange peel really adds another layer of flavor to the ice cream.
Just looking at a field of lavender has a calming effect on me. This ice cream looks beautiful and delicious!
The calming effect of lavender is well documented. It was such an amazing feeling when I realized all the buzzing bees hovering about the just harvested lavender were not making me nervous. It just felt right, amazing! Thanks for commenting!
Wonderful post, Deb. Informative and mouth-watering!
Thanks Carol! Making ice cream is so rewarding!