Roasted Cherry Lavender Ice Cream

By vealam

Ingredients

• 2 cups pitted + halved sweet cherries
• 2 tablespoon pure cane sugar
• 2 cups whole milk, divided
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon arrowroot starch
• 3 1/2 tablespoons full-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup pure cane sugar
• 1/4 cup dried lavender buds
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1-2 vanilla beans, split + scraped, pods reserved (about 1/4 teaspoon beans)

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from edibleperspective.com

Preparation

Step 1

*Pre-freeze your ice cream maker bowl according to manufacturer's instructions. I keep mine stored in the freezer so it's always ready.

Preheat your oven to 450° F.

Place pitted cherries in a baking dish and toss with sugar. Roast for 15-20 minutes until cherries have softened and are starting to caramelize. Stir halfway through.

While roasting, prepare an ice bath in a large mixing bowl. Remove cherries from the oven and let cool for 15-20 minutes. After cooling, place in your blender (optional) and pulse to desired consistency for stirring into your ice cream. Pour into a quart-sized freezer bag, squeeze the air out, and seal. Place in the ice bath to fully chill.

While cherries are roasting, whisk 2-3 tablespoons of milk (from the 2 cups) in a small bowl with the starch until well combined. In a med/large mixing bowl, hip the cream cheese and salt together until smooth. Set both aside.

In a large pot, add the remaining milk, cream, sugar, lavender, honey, scraped beans, and vanilla bean pods. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and whisk in the starch mixture. Place back on medium-high heat and stir with a heat-safe spatula until just starting to thicken, 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove vanilla bean pod(s).

In about 4 increments, whisk the milk mixture into the cream cheese bowl until smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer over another large bowl to strain the lavender buds. Pour into a gallon-sized freezer back, squeeze the air out, and seal. Place in the ice bath until fully chilled. About 30-60 minutes.

Pour the milk mixture into your ice cream maker and let spin until thick like soft serve ice cream. Refer to manual for timing details. Once finished, pour in the cherry mixture and fold in a few times. Scoop into a freezer-safe, airtight storage container and pack down. Press parchment paper directly on top of the ice cream and seal with the lid. Let freeze for 4+ hours before serving.

Notes:
If you do not have an ice cream maker, check out this post for ideas on how to freeze your ice cream.