Lavender Ice Cream (dairy free)
I debated whether lavender ice cream on its own was interesting enough. I love the flavor of lavender, but I’m always trying to do something exciting and different with flavor combinations. After experimenting with a few ideas (which might become future recipes), I ultimately stuck with pure, strong lavender. Although I couldn’t stop myself from adding a little lemon juice and vanilla, just to enhance the lavender itself…
When sourcing your lavender, make sure you buy dried, culinary lavender. Some lavender is intended for potpourri or decoration and may be treated with preservatives or chemicals you wouldn’t want to eat. If you only need a small quantity, you can never go wrong with Penzey’s. I wanted a larger quantity, so I found a good deal at Mountain Rose Herbs.
I think lavender is an exciting flavor on its own, but part of the fun of keeping this recipe simple is that you can get creative with toppings. Lemon makes one of the best pairings with lavender, so I pictured the ice cream with a dollop of lemon curd on top. Corn is also a great and often overlooked pairing, so popcorn (especially kettle corn or caramel popcorn) would be a fun variation. Maybe even corn nuts?
I’ve used protein powder (collagen powder in this case) to increase the protein and reduce the sugar, without sacrificing texture. For more details on how that works, click here.
Lavender Ice Cream (dairy free)
This recipe calls for collagen powder, which doesn't affect the flavor, but does give the ice cream a dense, silky, gelato-style texture. Other protein powders (unsweetened, unflavored) will work too. Check the notes below for advice on making substitutions.
The base uses coconut milk and silken tofu, which lowers the fat content compared with a pure coconut milk base. But we need to add some fat back in for texture purposes, so I've chosen olive oil as a healthy fat and complementary flavor.
Makes ~1 quart
Ingredients
Instructions
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INFUSE THE COCONUT MILK WITH LAVENDER
In a large sauce pan on the stove, whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, salt, and lavender buds. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a low simmer. Reduce the heat if needed to keep it at a low simmer for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, then turn off the heat. Let the lavender steep for 15 minutes.
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STRAIN OUT THE LAVENDER
Pour the mixture through a sieve into a large bowl.
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ADD REMAINING INGREDIENTS
Add all the remaining ingredients (tofu, honey, olive oil, collagen, lemon juice, vanilla, and xanthan gum). Use your whisk to break up the tofu and start to blend everything together, but don't worry if it's still lumpy, because we're about to...
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BLEND
Blend with an immersion blender or transfer to a standard blender and blend thoroughly, scraping down the sides with a spatula, until you can no longer see white specks of tofu. This might take a couple of minutes!
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ADD PURPLE COLOR (optional)
If desired, tint the ice cream purple by whisking in 5 drops of red plus 5 drops of blue food coloring.
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CHILL
Transfer to a container and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
For a quicker chilling time, place the bowl containing your mixture in an ice bath (a larger bowl containing ice water) for a few hours. Stir the mixture occasionally. As the water in the ice bath warms up, pour off some water and add ice to keep the mixture chilling as quickly as possible.
Ideally, the mixture will be about 40 degrees when you churn it. When your mixture is fully chilled, it will be thick like pudding because of the tofu. Don't worry, it will churn just fine (but fast!).
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CHURN
Before you start churning, set up everything you'll need to quickly transfer the ice cream from the machine into a container for freezing. I use a knife to scrape down the dasher (or paddle) and a wooden spoon to scoop out the ice cream.
Set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Scoop your mixture into the ice cream maker and churn. Because this mixture is thicker than many ice cream bases, it churns more quickly than most. In my machine the perfect churning time is 13 minutes, but your experience may vary.
It's finished churning when it looks like soft-serve and is pulling away from the sides of the canister.
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STORE
When the ice cream has finished churning, scoop it as quickly as possible into your storage container. Cover it with plastic wrap or parchment paper, if using. (Placing a sheet of parchment paper between the container and lid will help prevent frost, or you can press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream.) Put the container in the freezer. The ice cream will be fully firm in a few hours.
Note
Protein powder substitutions:
You can use any unflavored, unsweetened protein powder you want. Whey, collagen, and egg white work the best. Vegan protein powders can work too, but sometimes create a chalky texture. Because different protein powders have different textures, the same volume of different powders may weigh different amounts. Weighing is the best method for ensuring you get the 65 grams the recipe calls for, but here are some estimates for using a cup measurement:
- 65 g collagen powder = 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons
- 65 g whey protein = 1 scant cup
- 65 g egg white protein = 3/4 cup
- 65 g soy protein = 1 cup
Optional additions:
- 1-2 tablespoons of alcohol -- Adding alcohol improves the texture and scoopability of the final product and gives a little kick of extra flavor. Gin, rum, or vodka would be good choices.
Suggested toppings/accompaniments:
- lemon curd
- popcorn (especially caramel popcorn)
- chocolate sauce
Recommended equipment (may contain affiliate links):
- My ice cream maker (2 qt)
- Newer version of my ice cream maker (2 qt)
- Well-reviewed less expensive ice cream maker (1.5 qt)
- Insulated ice cream container
- Heat-proof spatula
- Immersion/hand blender
- Ice cream scoop
Recommended ingredients (may contain affiliate links):