I grow elderberries in two different varieties. Pictured is Black Beauty with delicate tiny pink star-shaped flowers on long deep purple stems. These just happened to blossom a little later in the season than my other white flowered variety so I grabbed them!

It is the pollen on elderflowers that is desirable and I highly advise picking the top flowers early in the morning while it is still a little chilly and before the bees start buzzing around. Elderflowers, when they start to loose their bloom, smell a little like pee (it’s true though, sorry!) and you don’t want any sort hint of that in your ice cream, so make sure you are picking fresh flowers that have not peaked yet. You only need five large flower clusters for this recipe, so leave some for the busy bees and of course for the berries later in the summer!

The leaves, stems and berries of both red and black elderberry species contain cyanide-inducing glycosides which can cause a toxic buildup of cyanide in the body. When using elderflowers, be sure to remove them from all but that smallest stem attachments to keep these toxins out of your food. As long as elderflower and elderberry are cooked, they are edible.

Because it’s really the pollen you want along with the flower itself, it is a good idea to infuse the flowers and cold cream together for 2-3 hours before making this traditional vanilla ice ream recipe. If using the Black Beauty variety, remove the flowers completely from the stem as the purple color will make the ice cream a little dingy looking and also to lower the risk of toxic buildup too of course.

You can always dehydrate some too for later use too, but I do think the fresh flowers and fresh pollen are better for this recipe. Nonetheless, place them on your trays for drying if desired or if you want to save some for a later use.

The base of this ice cream is a crème anglais or custard, so yes there are eggs in it. This is a rich old fashioned tasting vanilla ice cream recipe that is easy to whip up and also easy to add whatever flavors you want. If you are looking for a vegan or eggless variety, you can still use the elderflowers in the same way.

Spoon this ice cream over hot peach pie, or serve it with a strawberry sundae! Happy Fourth of July friends!

The post Elderflower Ice Cream first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

My Stepdad, Joe, would hover around the kitchen while this pie was baking and then pace around the house restless, waiting for it to set. Many a time it was served hot and messy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream over top because he just couldn’t wait.

My husband Ramin, does the same thing. I’m telling you this is a blue ribbon peach pie recipe! And yes, I’ll explain the “blossom” part (the SECRET ingredient) down below…

So what makes it so much better than the rest? A few things…

The peach is important. If your peaches are mealy and bland then your pie will be as well. I know, so obvious, but it needs to be repeated because there is a bit of effort to prepping peaches and it’s not worth the trouble if the main ingredient isn’t ripe, firm, and sweet-tart.

So bite into one before you blanch and peel and make sure it’s delicious! Or taste test at the farmer’s market before buying – that’s my favorite thing to do!

I always use a yellow variety because the white ones have sweetness overload with not enough acidity and tend to be a little softer. I love those white varieties too, especially for eating fresh, but not for pie.

I make this recipe with quick cooking tapioca but you can also just scratch the cream and tapioca part of this and mix the peaches with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch if you’re in a bind. Sometimes quick cooking tapioca is hard to find in the markets. Do not use regular tapioca – it takes waaaay to long to cook for this recipe. I do prefer quick cooking tapioca over cornstarch for this if you have a choice, the tapioca gives a little creaminess (along with the actual cream) which I love with peaches.

What is the blossom part of this? Orange blossom water! The combination of orange blossom and peach is truly magical. I am a purest when it comes to pie, I don’t often do mixed fruits. I never put raisins in my apple pies. I like blueberry as just blueberry and cherry as just cherry. But, there are exceptions and this is one of them. I strongly believe that peach and orange blossom flavors elevate each other to new foodgasm heights!

Layla and I made the first part of this recipe while Hettie Rose was napping. It’s so fun to have time with my big girl in the kitchen – the original wild child! – we don’t often get ‘just us’ time these days and cooking is one of the ways we get to bond. I love having a food project that we can work on together.

Both Layla and Hettie were gifted their own Japanese Misono kid’s knives with their names engraved by our long time family friends. If you are teaching a LIttle One to use a real knife I would highly suggest these. When I cooked for Le Bernardin in NYC I bought all my knives at Korin and they have an extensive and beautiful collection. In my years of teaching kids cooking, I have used many different knives and I think these are the best. They are perfect for small hands, nicely weighted and they have a rounded tip.

This Peach Blossom pie needs no extra help in the tasty department, but if you want to serve it with a scoop of vanilla or buttermilk ice cream overtop, while it’s still warm, I’m pretty sure you won’t regret it.

For my Flakey Pie Crust Recipe Go Here: Pâte Brisée

Yay for Summer!!! Enjoy!!! Don’t cry about it, just dig in and devour!!!

The post Peach Blossom Pie first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.