Lavender ice cream is a rich and ultra creamy ice cream infused with lavender syrup, layered swirls of sweet and floral honey and flecks of lavender buds. This no churn lavender honey ice cream is an easy to make and unique treat everyone will love.
Why Should You Make This Recipe
I love a good homemade ice cream recipe. A few recipes from the blog that I adore are my My Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream, Apple Ice Cream, Biscoff Ice Cream, Tiramisu Ice Cream, Nutella Ice Cream and Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. I am so excited to add this homemade ice cream recipe to the blog. I know you’ll love this ice cream too.
- You love lavender. I absolutely love pairing herbs with my baked goods. Now I can say that adding lavender to ice cream is just as wonderful. The floral sweetness pairs incredibly well with the creamy ice cream and swirls of honey. It’s like having a lavender honey latte in ice cream form.
- Super simple to make. Once the lavender syrup is made and cooled, you can make this wonderfully easy ice cream in about 15 minutes. After assembling the ice cream just let the ice cream freeze for about 6 - 8 hours, scoop and enjoy.
Ingredients
This lavender & honey ice cream recipe needs only a handful of ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you will need.
Gather lavender syrup, heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, honey and dried lavender buds.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make this ice cream if you need them.
- Lavender Syrup: I highly recommend making your own lavender syrup to control the concentration of lavender to your personal preference. See my lavender syrup recipe for any recommended substitutions or buy somesyrup from the store.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: This is another essential ingredient for homemade ice cream when not using an ice cream maker.
- Vanilla Extract: This provides a lovely background flavor for the ice cream and pairs wonderfully with the lavender and honey.
- Heavy Cream: This is an essential ingredient to the structure and texture of ice cream when it’s made without an ice cream mixer. Heavy cream usually whips to amount twice the amount.
- Honey: This is recommended for another delicious layer of flavor, but is optional. I recommend using a honey you love.
- Lavender Buds: You’ll need to use culinary grade lavender buds for this recipe. I like to buy mine through a spice company or through Amazon. Adding more lavender to the ice cream is a personal preference and to taste. I suggest putting no more than 1 teaspoon additional lavender buds unless you really love the taste of lavender.
Variation
Lavender Ice Cream without Lavender Syrup: I highly recommend making the lavender syrup. Alternatively you can buy lavender syrup, but if you prefer to make this ice cream without lavender syrup, gather these ingredients:
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk
- 2 - 3 tablespoons dried lavender buds
- 2 cups (480 ml) cold heavy cream
- 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup (60 ml) honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional
Steep the milk and lavender buds together. Add the lavender and milk to a saucepan. Warm the milk over low-medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes. Make sure not to scald the milk. Remove the milk from the heat to cool to room temperature. Once the mixture is cooled, strain the lavender buds from the milk and use in place of 1 cup lavender syrup in the recipe.
How To Make
Let me show you how to make lavender ice cream in a few easy steps.
- Make the lavender simple syrup. Add water, sugar and dried lavender buds into a small sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for an additional 6 - 10 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the lavender infused syrup from the heat and allow the mixture to sit and cool for about 20 minutes. Once the lavender infused syrup has cooled, place a fine mesh strainer over a heat safe bowl. Pour all of the mixture into the mesh strainer. Gently press any remaining syrup from the buds. Pour the heavy cream into a mixing bowl fitted with whisk attachment. Whip the cream at medium speed for 5 - 6 minutes or until the whipped cream is medium-stiff peaks. Scoop out the whipped cream into another bowl and set aside.
- In the same mixing bowl as the one used to make the whipped cream (or a clean one if you prefer) add the mix the condensed milk, cooled lavender syrup and vanilla extract together on low speed until smooth and fully combined. With the mixer on low (still using the paddle attachment), mix in the whipped cream until just combined. Taste and adjust the flavor if needed.
3. Assemble the ice cream. Evenly spread about ½ of the base ice cream into a large freezer safe container. Swirl honey into the base ice cream. Top with more lavender buds if you like. Repeat with the remaining lavender ice cream, followed by the more honey swirls and lavender buds. Transfer to the freezer to set for 1-2 hours. Then cover the entire container in plastic wrap and a layer of foil. Freeze the ice cream for another 6 hours, but preferably overnight. Pull the ice cream out, scoop and enjoy. Feel free to top with more honey if you like.
How To Make Ahead, Store and Serve
- Make Ahead: The lavender simple syrup can be made up to two weeks in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use to make the ice cream.
- Store: The creamy and decadent ice cream can be stored in an airtight and freezer proof container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Serve: Scoop the ice cream into bowls and enjoy. Feel free to top with more honey and dried lavender buds if you like. This lavender infused ice cream would also be incredibly delicious served on top of my Strawberry Cobbler or in between two Lemon Lavender Cookies.
M’s Expert Tips
- Allow time. Making and cooling the lavender simple will take about 30 - 45 minutes.
- Taste and adjust. Make sure to taste each component before assembling the ice cream. Feel free to adjust according to your preference for sweetness, creaminess and flavor preference.
- For even more lavender flavor, use lavender buds and lavender syrup. Lavender syrup is recommended to give the base ice cream a rich, sweet and creamy texture as well as the lavender flavor. For even more lavender flavor mix in dried lavender buds into the ice cream as well.
- Make sure to chill the ice cream for at least 6 - 8 hours: For the best lavender ice cream, do not skimp on the freezer time.
FAQs
Lavender is floral, with notes of sweet citrus or even a hint of mint or woodsy rosemary. Lavender belongs to the same her family as rosemary and mint. Be careful not to use too much as too much lavender can leave a soapy taste.
It's is a delightfully cool and creamy ice cream with hints of floral lavender and honey. Lavender is part of the mint family, so some people may find a hint of mint in the background.
This lavender and honey ice cream is similar to the one made by both Jeni’s and Salt & Straw in that they all have lavender flavor. This recipe for lavender ice cream has swirls of honey that is similar to the one from Salt & Straw.
Other Lavender Recipes to Try
- Lavender Cookies
- Lemon Lavender Cookies
- Lavender Brownies
- Lavender Simple Syrup
If you try this Lavender Ice Cream Recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! - M
Lavender Ice Cream Recipe
Equipment
- 1 sauce pan to make the lavender syrup
- 1 stand mixer with whisk attachment or hand mixer with beaters
Ingredients
Lavender Simple Syrup
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1 - 4 tablespoons dried culinary lavender buds
Lavender Ice Cream
- 2 cups (480 ml) cold heavy cream
- 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup (240 ml) lavender simple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ¼ cup (60 ml) honey, optional
- 1 - 2 teaspoons dried lavender buds, optional
Instructions
- Make the lavender simple syrup. Add water, sugar and dried lavender buds into a small sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for an additional 6 - 10 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the lavender infused syrup from the heat and allow the mixture to sit and cool for about 20 minutes.1 cup (240 ml) water, 1 cup (200 g) sugar, 1 - 4 tablespoons dried culinary lavender buds
- Once the lavender infused syrup has cooled, place a fine mesh strainer over a heat safe bowl. Pour all of the mixture into the mesh strainer. Gently press any remaining syrup from the buds. Pour the heavy cream into a mixing bowl fitted with whisk attachment.
- Whip the cream at medium speed for 5 - 6 minutes or until the whipped cream is medium-stiff peaks. Scoop out the whipped cream into another bowl and set aside.2 cups (480 ml) cold heavy cream
- In the same mixing bowl as the one used to make the whipped cream (or a clean one if you prefer) add the mix the condensed milk, cooled lavender syrup and vanilla extract together on low speed until smooth and fully combined. With the mixer on low (still using the paddle attachment), mix in the whipped cream until just combined. Taste and adjust the flavor if needed.14 oz. sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup (240 ml) lavender simple syrup, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- Assemble the ice cream. Evenly spread about ½ of the base ice cream into a large freezer safe container. Swirl honey into the base ice cream. Top with more lavender buds if you like. Repeat with the remaining lavender ice cream, followed by the more honey swirls and lavender buds.¼ cup (60 ml) honey, optional , 1 - 2 teaspoons dried lavender buds, optional
- Transfer to the freezer to set for 1-2 hours. Then cover the entire container in plastic wrap and a layer of foil. Freeze the ice cream for another 6 hours, but preferably overnight. Pull the ice cream out, scoop and enjoy. Feel free to top with more honey if you like.
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