This might be the prettiest tasting ice cream I’ve ever made. Elderflower gives vanilla ice cream a delicate floral flavor that is simply beautiful. It pairs nicely with strawberries, peaches (or peach pie) and elevates any fruit flavor into something romantically old fashioned.
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!
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 pinches sea salt
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 large elderflower clusters (a cluster can be multiple spray of flowers off of one stalk)
Go out in the morning and pick 4-5 large clusters of elderflowers from the top of the bush. I count a cluster as: multiple sprays off of one stalk. Do not clean. Do not shake. Do not loose that pollen! Just place them gently in your basket. Measure out the cream and milk and pour into a mixing bowl. Gently pluck the flowers from the stems (and make sure no bugs are present!) and add flowers to the cream mixture. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
In a medium sized pot, scald cream, milk, sugar, salt, elderflowers and vanilla beans & seeds until sugar dissolves completely. Remove cream mixture from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Remove vanilla bean, you can add it back later to infuse some more if desired. Strain out elderflowers pouring through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the yolks. Whisking constantly, pour half of the hot cream into the yolks in a slow and steady stream, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the remaining cream. Return pot to low heat and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon – just to coat!
Strain mixture (again, to catch any eggy bits) through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, stir in vanilla extract. Cool to room temperature then cover and completely chill in the refrigerator. Do not begin to freeze the cream until the mixture is thoroughly chilled. Trust me, I have tried before and it never works.
When base is chilled, pour into an ice cream maker machine and follow manufacturer’s instructions. Spoon ice cream into a container and freeze for at least a few hours before serving so the ice cream is uniformly frozen.
Yield: About 1 pint plus
