Honey Lavender Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons edible lavender flowers dried
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 cup half-and-half 
• 2 cups heavy cream 
• 0.7 cup mild honey 
• 0.1 teaspoon salt 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• whisk
• sieve
• wooden spoon
• kitchen thermometer
• ice cream machine

Directions

1. Bring cream, half-and-half, honey, and lavender just to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, then remove pan from heat.
2. Let steep, covered, 30 minutes.
3. Pour cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard lavender. Return mixture to cleaned saucepan and heat over moderate heat until hot.
4. Whisk together eggs and salt in a large bowl, then add 1 cup hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking.
5. Pour into remaining hot cream mixture in saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 to 175°F on thermometer, about 5 minutes (do not let boil).
6. Pour custard through sieve into cleaned bowl and cool completely, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.
7. Freeze custard in ice cream maker.
8. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.
9. • To cool custard quickly after straining, set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stir until chilled. • Custard can chill up to 1 day before freezing. • Ice cream keeps 1 week.*Available at Penzeys (800-741-778
10. and Kalustyan's (800-352-3451).