Blueberry Lavender Ice Cream Flowers

Blueberry, Zorn 1796 Ebay print

I have always loved blueberries.  I keep a bag of them in the freezer to have with yogurt or on ice cream and am in heaven when they are in season.  What’s not to love about them?  They are incredibly good for you –– full of manganese, vitamins A, B1, B2, C, niacin, and the minerals calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and iron, fiber, and antioxidant.  They also have resveratrol, that magic stuff that is supposed to keep you young when you eat it –– you know, the stuff that red wine is rich in.  They’re good for your blood pressure, depression and may even lower cholesterol.  Native Americans called them ‘star berries” and believed the Great Spirit sent star berries to relieve children’s hunger during famine. They made a corn cake with blueberries that the pilgrims probably enjoyed at their first Thanksgiving, according to the Blueberry Council.

Robert Frost wrote a poem about them that began:

"YOU ought to have seen what I saw on my way

To the village, through Mortenson's pasture to-day:

Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,

Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum

In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!

And all ripe together, not some of them green

And some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!"

and ended:

“You ought to have seen how it looked in the rain,

The fruit mixed with water in layers of leaves,

Like two kinds of jewels, a vision for thieves.”

They are a fabulous color, aren’t they? I love the purple dye that colors the cream a perfect lavender color.

lavandula

That got me to thinking the other day when I found myself with blueberries and cream in the fridge –– I would make a favorite summer ice cream, blueberry lavender.  No, not just the color but a hint of the flower lavender.  I can’t remember what made me combine them years ago, but I’ve been doing it ever since.  It leaves a lovely fragrance in your mouth after you eat it. You can use lavender flowers or one of my favorite ingredients, Aftelier Lavender Essence that imparts the soul of lavender to the mixture. You can just use scoops or old ice cream molds that make it very special  to look at and delicious.

Remember if you use a mold, just hold the top of the mold for a moment, then pull away the top. Warm your hand for the top and use a warm cloth for the bottom where the detail isn't as important (or your hand after you've warmed it up!).  I used a lobster pick to pop out the bottom.  If you leave it on too long or too warm, you will lose the detail in the mold. Do not run it under hot water (did that the first time and lost all the detail to mush). If you only have a few molds, you can save them in the freezer and keep making more with softened ice cream.  

I have seen silicon molds that come in sheets like cupcakes too (you can see one here: World Cuisine Non-Stick Silicone Mold, Rose) -- they don't have the bottom detail (that you don't see anyway!). I can't tell you the trick to them so you may have to experiment.  Mine was a very heavy old French metal model on a hinge with a top and bottom.

Blue berry Lavender Ice Cream

1 ½ c whole milk

1 ½ c cream

¾ c sugar

4 egg yolks

1 ½ c blueberries

1 T maple syrup

1 t vanilla extract

2-3 drops Aftelier Lavender Essence or 2 T lavender blossoms 

use rose geranium leaves and/or lemon verbena for garnish (optional)

Heat the milk and the cream with ¼ c sugar till sugar dissolves.  Remove from the heat.

Beat the yolks with the rest of the sugar until lemony colored and thick.  Pour the hot milk mixture into the bowl, beating all the while.  Clean the pot and return the mixture to the stove, it will be around 150º.  Heat the custard till no more than 180º stirring constantly.

Pour the custard through a strainer, stir in the vanilla and chill.

Puree the blueberries with the maple syrup and the lavender.  Chill.  When chilled, add to the custard mixture and freeze with your ice cream maker

OR, easier...

Use softened vanilla ice cream and add the pureed blueberries and lavender.

OR, easier still

Use softened blueberry ice cream and add lavender