lilac ice cream
Lilac season is always so fleeting. They burst on the spring scene with showy blooms and a heavenly fragrance, and are always such a dream. Sadly cut lilacs don’t last more than a couple days, so I’m always looking for ways to enjoy them for a little while longer.
Lilac ice cream had been on my mind since our bushes started blooming, but I wasn’t sure if it would work or not. Lilac sugar and syrup tend to be quite lightly flavoured treats (find the recipe for both here!), and I experimented with how to infuse milk and cream with enough flavour so it would come through in the ice cream. I decided to start with a philadelphia style ice cream base which is simply cream, milk, and sugar, so that the floral flavour wouldn’t need to compete with egg yolks at all. I even used lilac sugar to help bump up the flavour.
The real breakthrough however, came when I decided to simply mix lilac flowers right into the ice cream…and BAM!! So much flavour, and such a unique dessert too. This ice cream packs a punch of flowery flavour, and is delicious when served with fresh berries, a drizzle of chocolate, or even with a large slice of angel food cake.
lilac ice cream
recipe: Kelsey Siemens
ingredients
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup milk (whole milk is best, but any kind is fine!)
1/2 cup sugar (use lilac sugar if you have some on hand)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 - 1 cup loosely packed lilac flowers, use a higher amount for a stronger taste
to make the ice cream
First make sure to freeze the base of your ice cream maker the day before.
Pick your lilacs, and remove each small flower from the green stem. The stems can be bitter, and it’s worth the extra work to remove them! Gently wash the flowers, and allow to dry on a towel before adding to the ice cream.
In medium sauce pan, whisk the sugar and milk together. Heat over medium, whisking occasionally, until the mixture begins to steam and the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat, and allow to cool slightly. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Chill the mixture in the fridge for 1-2 hours, or until completely cold.
Pour the chilled mixture into the prepared ice cream machine, and churn according to your machine’s directions. Our machine takes about 25 minutes. The ice cream should be thick, fluffy, and be pulling away from the sides of the machine when it’s ready. Remove from the machine, and carefully fold in the lilac flowers. Serve immediately as soft serve, or transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.
a few notes:
no ice cream maker?? make it no churn by folding 1 cup of loose lilacs into THIS “no churn vanilla ice cream recipe”!!
the lilac flowers may be added to the mixture with the cream and vanilla, as they’ll mix in much more evenly, but will likely bruise and turn brown. this makes no difference to their taste, but aesthetically is not as pretty as having purple petals - I’ve tried both methods.
try not to add a warm ice cream base to your ice cream maker, as it could heat it up too much and you’ll never achieve a fluffy textured ice cream! patience is key.
don’t have access to lilacs? swap in rose petals, or other edible flowers if you’d like - the amount may need adjusting depending on their potency.
double the recipe if you want a larger batch!
happy flower picking and ice cream licking!
