Honey Lilac Ice Cream
I love capturing the scent of late spring in New England in this Honey Lilac Ice cream. It's a from-scratch, a no-churn ice cream; just mix the ingredients and freeze. An inviting, unique dessert for the family!
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 343kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups cold heavy cream
- 3 sprigs clean, washed lilac flowers (sprigs are 3 to 4-inch conical clusters)
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup honey (wildflower honey is especially nice here)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- extra lilac flowers to garnish (Optional)
Instructions
Infuse the cream:
- Pour the 2 cups cold heavy cream into a large bowl. Submerge 3 sprigs clean, washed lilac flowers in the cream; turn them over several times to saturate them.
- Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge to infuse overnight.
Strain the cream:
- The next day, strain out the lilacs from the cream, pressing the flowers gently to release the liquid. Discard the flowers.
- Place the bowl and whisk attachment for a stand mixer in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes. (If using a hand mixer, chill a large bowl and the beaters.)
Mix ingredients:
- In another large bowl, stir together the 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, ¼ cup honey , 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, and 1 pinch salt. Hold this aside.
Make the whipped cream:
- Assemble the chilled mixer bowl and whisk on the stand mixer. Pour in the lilac-infused cream. Set the mixer to medium-high speed to beat the cream. As the cream begins to thicken you can increase the speed.
- Beat the cream for 3 to 5 minutes, until it turns into whipped cream with stiff peaks.
Fold everything together:
- Scoop the whipped cream into the bowl with the condensed milk-honey mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold them together, using gentle strokes so that you don't lose too much air from the whipped cream.
Freeze:
- Spoon this mixture into a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Use the rubber spatula to spread the ice cream mixture evenly in the pan, and add a few decorative swirls to the top if you'd like.
- Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and freeze it for 24 hours.
Serve!
- The next day it's ready to serve! The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture similar to soft serve. Add extra lilac flowers to garnish the dishes if you'd like.
Store:
- Store the ice cream in a covered container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- For the best results when whipping the cream, be sure that the cream, mixer bowl, and beaters are very cold before you start.
- Store the ice cream in the freezer, covered tightly, for up to one week.
- Wait to add flowers to the ice cream until after it's frozen—sprinkle fresh lilac blooms over the tops just before serving the ice cream. The flowers don't hold up well if you freeze them!
- When planning for this recipe remember that you need two overnight periods: one to infuse the cream and the other to freeze the ice cream.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 0.03g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 812IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 145mg | Iron: 0.2mg
