A creamy, dairy free homemade ice cream is possible!! This one is infused with earl grey and lavender, then sweetened with honey!
I’ve had to get creative over the last 5 months or so of not eating dairy while nursing my little man and have found that you can still enjoy most things using alternative ingredients! It’s pretty amazing how well you can eat on a more plant based diet these days. I still miss real cheese because there is just no substitute, BUT my undying love for ice cream has not gone unrewarded during this time. So Delicious makes some pretty incredible cashew milk and coconut milk ice creams now. Knowing that it was possible, I decided to put my skills to the test and create creamy dairy free ice cream at home using flavors that I love – earl grey and lavender.
We have a lavender bush in our front yard that has survived a few winters and is doing really well. With ample fresh lavender available and just begging to be used, Remington kept bugging me to make a homemade lavender ice cream since this is a favorite flavor of ours. Cruze Farm has some pretty amazing honey lavender soft serve available this summer at their pop-up shop on Gay Street, but alas I cannot enjoy it right now. So we made our own, but infused it with earl grey tea as well. Then we stirred in cocoa nibs as it was churning for a little added flavor and crunch.
This is an egg yolk custard based recipe, so it is not vegan, but the result is just as creamy and luscious as regular ice cream made with cream. Remember when I told you last week to save the egg yolks after making the marshmallow frosting for my S’mores Brownie Bites? Yep, aren’t you glad you did? Now you can use them to make this delicious ice cream.
I used a combination of canned full fat coconut milk and almond milk in the carton. The almond milk was unsweetened and vanilla flavored, but feel free to try using unflavored or cashew, soy, or rice milk instead. After simmering the milk with the tea and lavender to infuse it and then turning that into a custard with egg yolks and honey, this got churned in our favorite Cuisinart ice cream maker. We have the older model and love it, but it seems Cuisinart has since released a new model.
As I said, we picked the fresh lavender from our own French Lavender bush, but you can purchase culinary grade organic lavender here. I have purchased Earl Grey tea from Upton Tea Imports, but you can get loose leaf earl grey tea here. I have found cocoa nibs at Trader Joe’s recently and the ones I used in this recipe were purchased at a Spice & Tea Exchange, but you can also find them on Amazon.
Ingredients
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 can coconut milk, full fat
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 Tbsp earl grey tea
- 2 stems lavender
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 Tbsp cocoa nibs
Instructions
Beat the egg yolks until pale yellow.
Steep the almond milk with the earl grey tea and lavender for 10-15 minutes until nearly boiling.
Strain the milk.
Slowly pour a 1/4 cup into the egg yolks to warm them slowly, whisking as you pour.
Pour eggs into hot milk, return mixture to stove. Add coconut milk. Heat slowly, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened and sticks to the back of a wooden spoon.
Add honey. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least an hour to bring down the temperature.
Pour into bowl of ice cream maker and churn until frozen. Near the end of the process, add in the cocoa nibs.
https://www.kandradventures.com/creamy-dairy-free-earl-grey-ice-cream-with-lavender-and-honey/
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I love honey and lavender in ice cream so I bet the addition of the tea is sooooo good!