Friday, August 21, 2009

Honey Rosemary Ice Cream


I happen to have some very delicious honey and with all the great fruit in abundance right now I thought it would be a very good time to make some honey ice cream. And since I love honey and rosemary together, I threw some into the batch.

I keep the mixture simple to make by eliminating eggs and the need to cook a custard. The result is a soft and delicious ice cream with a clean bright flavor that can be matched with all kinds of fruit and all sorts of cookies from graham crackers and chocolate wafers to pain d’amande and pine nut cookies. Not to mention madeleines!


Bench notes:
- When I refer to "rosemary sprigs" in the recipe, I mean a sprig like those in the photo. Each one is about 4” long, so the recommended amount would be about 6” of rosemary sprig. This doesn’t need to be precise since you’ll be tasting for strength during the steeping period. The sprigs are steeped whole; no need to chop or mince.
- This ice cream would be great with any stone fruit, figs, pears, oranges or blackberries.


Honey Rosemary Ice Cream

2 C heavy cream
1 C whole milk
1/2 C honey
1/4 C sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 sprigs of rosemary

Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan and add the honey, sugar and salt. Simmer over medium low heat until the sugar and honey are fully dissolved. Remove from heat and add the rosemary sprigs. Cover and steep for about 20 minutes to a half hour, tasting every 10 minutes for strength. When you have the right flavor, remove the rosemary sprigs and pour the mixture into an airtight container. Chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.

Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker. Pour into a clean airtight container, press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface and cover with the lid. Place in your freezer to firm up.

17 comments:

Cakespy said...

This sounds so refreshing, yet also satisfying! I love rosemary, and am intrigued by the flavor combo!

anna said...

That looks incredible! I've been meaning to make a honey ice cream and rosemary sounds intriguing! I have some ideas now.

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

i also love herb infused ice creams with stone fruits for some reason. sounds great!

Jennifer said...

I love honey and rosemary paired together, but in icecream? HOW WONDERFUL!

Diana H said...

I love all of the different ideas people come up with for ice cream. I am determined to get an ice cream maker and trying out some of my own.

Barbara said...

I think it's great to combine herbs with sweet things. This ice cream recipe looks delicious!

Bunny said...

Ice cream is a staple in this house any time of the yr, this looks so good!

pastry studio said...

Thank you all for your generous comments. This is one of my favorite ice creams and it's unbelievably versatile.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, run do not walk and purchase one! There is NOTHING like home made ice cream. And half the fun is dreaming up all these interesting flavors. Cheers!

Sam@BingeNYC said...

What a delicious combo! Honey + Rosemary yummm.

Helene said...

There is nothing better than stone fruits and herbs! They go so well together! Beautiful ice cream Gayle!

Anonymous said...

This looks incredible! So gentle. Such a shame we tend not to get good nectarines in England, but there are obviously hundreds of other great acompaniments: figs, warm tarts, cheeses...

Ice Cream Forum said...

Sounds absolutely delicious, especially with some summer fruits.

espresso machines said...

I love the idea of this recipe.Oh the honey will be great for sure.Love this post!

melina lobos said...

I have been trying to make this for a thanksgiving dessert.. And I'm having problems firming my mix. I have a Krups 358 (La Glaciere) and have followed every possible instruction. I eventually gave up and just poured the slushie liquid into an airtight container and in the freezer in hopes to have it harden.. Any advice? I love the taste.. :) just can't get it to set right!

pastry studio said...

melina, so sorry to hear you're having a problem with this. A couple of questions for you:

Did you thoroughly chill the base before trying to churn it? It takes a lot longer for your machine to churn it if the base is not icy cold.

Did you increase the sugar and/or honey? That will prevent it from firming up properly. Once it's churned, it should firm up in about 3 hours or so, depending on your freezer.

I hope it works out for you! It's a really delicious ice cream.

melina lobos said...

wow! what a quick response! :)

the base has been in the freezer for months, lol, we almost never use it.. i saw your post and decided it was time ;) so yes, it was very cold.. i didnt increase anyting, i actually was doing a test batch, so i did half the recipe size. its been in the freezer, slooowly getting thicker.

my Krups instructions said it should of thickened and solidified as it was churning (20-40 min) but it seemed more like it was 'blending'... when you do yours, does it get hard as you churn or once its in the freezer? could i be doing something wrong when its on the stove?

im so excited to finally get to eat it..

pastry studio said...

melina, I was actually referring to the ice cream base being very cold and not the machine. But yes, the machine bowl has to be completely frozen.

Whenever I churn ice cream, I always have to put it in the freezer for about 3 - 4 hours after it's done to firm it up. The churning aerates it, sort of "fluffing" it up and beginning the chilling process. But it nearly always takes more chilling to become scoop-able, depending upon the composition of the ice cream.

Hope this helps!!