Red, white, and YUM! This sophisticated ice cream infusion will elevate your Fourth of July celebrations this weekend. It’s easier than you think!
What’s more Fourth than firecrackers? Ice cream, that’s what!
You’ll eat ice cream at least once during the holiday weekend and I bet you can almost taste your melting cone when you visualize those fireworks exploding in the sky.
Well, I have a FUN NEW ICE CREAM for you to consider.
It’s NEW because instead of making the base with traditional egg custard, we thicken the cream with a cornstarch slurry and a bit of cream cheese.
It’s FUN because we infuse the cream with your favorite herb, spice, or almost anything else you want.
Infused ice creams give your base a little somethin,’ somethin’ that grabs your taste buds and makes you ask, “What’s in this?” For this recipe, I infused the cream with chamomile flowers that I bought at the farmer’s market.
The chamomile gives the honey-based cream an earthy, rich depth. But you don’t have to seek out fresh chamomile. Lavender, basil, and even sage leaves are great to experiment with.
You can infuse the cream with anything you have on hand. Take your kid’s favorite cereal and infuse the cream with this. You can use citrus rinds, berries, store-bought cookies…. anything. Don’t Google this, by the way, or you’ll be lacing your ice cream with cannabis!
I was describing to my friend what difference chamomile makes in the ice cream and I came up with this.
Remember when you were feeling poorly, and your mom brought you a cup of (probably chamomile) tea with a spoonful of honey stirred through? Remember what it felt like when that tea hit the back of your throat? It soothed and warmed and comforted.
That’s what this ice cream tastes like!
For this chamomile-infused ice cream, I replaced some of the sugar with honey and swirled in a dollop or two of peach sauce made from some pretty ripe peaches also bought at the farmer’s market. (There’s a trick with a bit of vodka stirred into the base at the end.)
My ice cream machine does most of the work, so making the base the day before allows little ones to take part in reaching the final product.
Like I said, it’s FUN!!
Chamomile Honey Ice Cream
with a Peach Swirl
Servings
6 Large Scoops
Ready In
60 minutes plus some freezer time
Good For
Dessert
Entertaining
For peach swirl
4 to 6 medium-ripe peaches, peeled and diced
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Juice from ½ lemon, about 1 tablespoon
For ice cream:
3 cups half and half
1 ¾ cups heavy crem
¾ cups granulated sugar
4 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup fresh chamomile
3 tablespoons corn starch mixed with 3 tablespoons half and half
3 ounces cream cheese
Directions
Place a loaf pan into the freezer.
Place the peaches into a pot. Add ⅓ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon corn starch and lemon juice. Cook over low heat until the peaches are completely broken down, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Pour the peaches into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to make a smooth sauce. Place into the fridge to cool completely.
Pour 3 cups half and half and the heavy cream into a deep pot. Stir in the sugar, honey, vanilla, and salt. Cook over medium heat until the cream just begins to simmer. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the chamomile. Cover the pot with a lid and let it sit for 20 minutes.
Pour the cream through a fine mesh sieve (you can use a mesh colander) into a bowl. Then pour the cream back into the pot. Cook over medium heat until the cream just begins to boil. Add the cornstarch slurry and whisk until the cream thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, just a couple of minutes.
Place the cream cheese into a bowl. Pour some of the thickened cream into the bowl. Stir the cream cheese into the warm liquid to melt and then pour this back into the pot. Whisk over medium-low heat until the cream cheese is completely melted, and the cream is quite thick. Stir in the vodka.
Pour the cream through the fine sieve (again) and into a bowl. Place this bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice. Cool the cream for 30 minutes and then place the bowl into the fridge to cool completely, about 2 hours more.
Pour the cold cream into the bowl of your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s directions. When the ice cream is ready, spoon ⅓ of it into the cold loaf pan. Swirl in 3 or 4 tablespoons of the peach sauce. Continue layering the ice cream and peaches. Chill in the freezer for several hours.
Spoon extra peach sauce into the bottom of the bowl. Scoop the ice cream on top.
Thing to Note
The vodka makes your ice cream soft and creamy and easy to scoop when you are ready to serve. It doesn’t add any flavor and you can leave it out if you want.
Tried it? Tag it!
I would love to see what you did with this recipe. Share your creation by tagging #inthekitchenwithjorj and with Scrumptious Possibilities With Jorj, my free private home cooking group.
