Here is my creamy lavender ice cream recipe with mascarpone and honey… And yes, this is hands down my most favorite homemade ice cream recipe that I have ever made!
Have you made ice cream before?
I am sure that ice cream like this lavender ice cream recipe experiment I did last week will never get any creamier. This one is hands down my favorite homemade ice cream recipe so far I must say!
Homemade Ice Creams
So what is it that makes this ice cream absolutely to die for?
Well first off the creaminess here in this lavender ice cream recipe definitely comes from the mascarpone that I used. What a great last minute idea that turned out to be, to add that leftover scoop of mascarpone that was still left in my fridge.
Easy Lavender Ice Cream Recipe with Mascarpone
I also let the fresh lavender simmer and soak in the milk first.
Why would you want to do it?
Letting the milk and fresh lavender infuse for a couple of minutes will make it release all the flavor that you need. You will see, the taste is fabulous afterwards without adding any artificial food flavoring. Use the gorgeous purple lavender flowers for garnish.
Mind you, these can also be very strong in flavor.
Give it a try, I am sure that you will love my lavender ice cream recipe!
Have you cooked with lavender before?
Then you should also check out my steak with lavender or how about my lavender cupcakes!
Enjoy!
Easy Mascarpone & Lavender Ice Cream Recipe
Here's my creamy lavender ice cream recipe with mascarpone and honey... My most favorite homemade ice cream recipe that I have ever made!
- ½ cup whole milk (120 ml)
- 6 sprigs fresh lavender
- 5,5 oz mascarpone (155 g)
- 3 tbsp honey
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To start this lavender ice cream recipe, pick a tablespoon full of the nicest purple lavender flowers off the fresh sprigs. Keep the flowers aside until needed later on. Cut the remaining green sprigs up into smaller bits. Crush them a little under the blade of you knife so that they will release more flavor. Add the sprigs to a large saucepan and pour in the milk.
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Place the pan over medium-low heat and heat the milk until it is simmering and warmed through but not boiling. Then add the mascarpone and the honey.
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Stir and let the mascarpone and the honey melt and dissolve in the warm milk. Turn the heat as low as you can and let the milk and lavender infuse for 10 minutes. Then take the pan off the heat and strain the milk through a fine sieve over another saucepan.
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Place the milk back over low heat and add the fresh purple lavender flowers you put aside. Then taste the milk and add extra honey (or sugar) if you want it to be sweeter. Take the pan off the heat and let the milk cool down fully at room temperature. Then place it in the fridge for at least an hour until it is ice cold. Depending on your device, follow the specific instructions to turn the mascarpone mixture into ice cream.
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Once that is done, scoop the freshly made lavender ice cream recipe into bowls. Sprinkle with extra lavender flowers and serve immediately.
Easy Honey & Orange Ice Cream Recipe
This next ice cream recipe is totally different from the previous lavender ice cream recipe.
Did you know that there are 2 desserts in just 1 fresh orange!
My orange ice cream recipe below was born right after I prepared an orange carpaccio. Those thick bright orange rinds I was going to throw out looked so good to get rid of, what an absolute shame!
So I thought I should keep it zero waste and come up with another idea.
Hence my decision to use that fresh orange rind and turn it in another sweet dessert recipe.
But what should I do with them?
Orange Rind
Grating the rind seemed like the best option.
And since I was experimenting with my new ice cream maker around that time, well orange ice cream seemed like a great idea to make.
I prefer yogurt or a yogurt and cream mixture as a base for my homemade ice cream.
The yogurt makes the ice cream so much smoother and so velvety.
The fresh rosemary backs the orange flavor up wonderfully. What a great match! I add the rosemary leaves to the ice cream in the end but if you think they are too tough, just leave them out.
Enjoy!
Easy Honey & Orange Ice Cream Recipe
Another experiment straight out of my new ice cream maker!
- zest of 1 large orange
- 3,5 oz unsweetened yogurt (100 g)
- 3 oz caster sugar (85 g)
- 1 cup cream (240 ml)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 tsp lemon juice
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Pour the cream in a medium saucepan and add the rosemary sprigs, the fresh orange zest and the caster sugar.
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Place the pan over medium-low heat and warm the cream up. Don’t let it boil over. Just keep it at a very gentle simmer. Leave the cream there for 5 to 7 minutes until the sugar has fully dissolved. Then pour in the honey.
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Stir well until the honey has melted away in the warm cream as well. Then take the saucepan off the heat and let the warm orange cream cool down and infuse fully to give the flavors some time to develop. Once cooled, pour the orange cream in a clean blender and add the plain yogurt and the lemon juice.
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Blend well into a creamy mixture until the rosemary is chopped very finely (large chunks will be inedible). Check the seasoning. Add extra sugar or lemon juice to taste.
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Follow the specific instructions to turn the cream mixture into ice cream. Once that is done, scoop the freshly made orange ice cream into bowls and serve immediately.
Easy Fresh Yogurt & Apricot Ice Cream
Thank god for ice cream makers!!
I haven’t always had one. Some time ago I started to try out no churn ice cream.
My husband is a sweet tooth and serial ice cream eater. But although he would eat that nu churn ice cream without any complaints, one day he suggested that we buy an ice cream maker.
Well that is a sign right there that there was room for improvement!
So let the experiments begin.
Neighbour
Here is a creamy apricot ice cream, another ice cream recipe I can gladly scratch off my ever growing long shortlist of sunny recipes to make this summer.
Do you like apricots? Fresh apricots?
My lovely neighbour has this big ass apricot tree in his garden and ever summer in July he comes over to bring a paper bag full of these sweet and juicy fresh orange fruits.
Man, it is like honey when you bite into them.
They are so sweet and perfect!
Fresh Apricots
So I was stuck with this heap of juicy orange buggers and all at once I thought why not make ice cream or a kind of sorbet with them?
The fresh apricots were pretty juicy and sugary but they still needed an extra dash of sugar to back up the acidity. A spoonful of apricot jam and some caster sugar did the trick here.
My second most favorite ice cream after my lavender ice cream recipe.
Perfect.
Enjoy!
Easy Fresh Yogurt & Apricot Ice Cream Recipe
I was stuck with this heap of juicy orange buggers and all at once I thought why not make ice cream or a kind of sorbet with them?
- 1 tbsp sweet apricot jam
- 10,5 oz fresh and very ripe apricots (300 g)
- ¾ cup cream (180 ml)
- 3 oz caster sugar (85 g)
- ½ cup unsweetened yogurt (120 ml)
- black sesame seeds
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Slice the ripe apricots in half and remove the pit in the center. Discard it and then chop the apricot flesh up into small chunks. Add them to a medium saucepan together with the apricot jam and the caster sugar.
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Place the pan over medium-high heat and stir regularly while the caster gently melts and the apricot softens a little. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Then pour in the cream.
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Stir the soft apricots well, put a lid on the pan and cook them for another 4 to 6 minutes until they fall more or less apart.
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Take the pan off the heat and let the apricots cool down fully. Then pour this mixture in a clean blender.
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Blend for a couple of minutes until it looks smooth and all the chunks are gone. Then add the yogurt.
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Blend again. Your ice cream mixture is ready now. Follow the specific instructions of your ice cream maker to turn the ice cream mixture into ice cream.
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Once that is done, scoop the fresh ice cream into cold bowls. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds (optional) and serve the ice cream immediately.
Easy Apple Juice & Kiwi Sorbet
So we have had a lavender ice cream recipe, a honey and orange ice cream recipe and an apricot ice cream recipe here.
Time for a sorbet!
Do you have a couple of ripe and smooth kiwis in my pantry?
Let’s make a fruity kiwi sorbet then! I do have admit that I am not an avid fruit buyer or eater. Don’t ask me why, I never really was into fruits before. So how on earth did these 2 sweet buggers end up here anyway?
Well I didn’t buy the kiwis, that is for sure.
Fresh Kiwis
Until I remembered we were at a hotel the week before after a late night concert in Brussels, had breakfast there and I took them 2 kiwis home with me.
I mean, as a sugary snack on our way back home. The hubs sometimes has these little blood sugar level issues lately so a quick sweet bite always comes in handy, especially when we are on the road.
He had no issues that day apparently so I left them in my pantry and somehow forgot about them. Until now. I really didn’t know what to do with them at first.
Kiwifruit Recipes
Kiwi pie? Smoothie? Chutney?
I spotted half a bottle of apple juice in my fridge and thought I could use that as a sorbet base. Add the fresh kiwis, sugar and lemon juice to taste. This couldn’t go wrong. In the end the sorbet was so silky and that natural kiwi flavor really stood out.
Another hit!
And totally different again from my lavender ice cream recipe.
Enjoy!
Easy Apple Juice & Kiwi Sorbet Recipe
Apple juice, fresh kiwis, sugar and lemon juice... this sorbet is amazing!
- ½ cup apple juice or lemonade
- 2 very ripe kiwifruits
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
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Place the pan over medium heat and gently warm the mixture up without boiling. Stir regularly until the sugar has fully dissolved. Then check the taste and add extra sugar or lemon juice if you prefer. Then take pan off the heat and let the liquid cool down. Peel the kiwi and cut it up into smaller chunks. Add this to a clean blender.
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Pulse into a smooth puree. Then pour in the cooled juice (or lemonade).
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Blend well again. Check the taste and add extra lemon juice or caster sugar if necessary. Put the kiwi mixture in the fridge to cool down fully for at least an hour. Depending on your device, follow the specific instructions to turn the cream mixture into ice cream.
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Once that is done, scoop the ice cream into bowls and serve.