Honey Ice Cream

Since making my first batch of homemade ice cream, I've kept an eye out for ice cream flavor ideas. I stumbled across a recipe for honey rosemary ice cream. The recipe itself didn't thrill me, but I fell in love with the idea of honey ice cream. I love honey! It's a perfect complement to so many things.


I decided to just alter the Nigella Lawson recipe I used the first time, because I love Nigella and I dorkishly love stirring the custard for 10 minutes, watching it thicken into something beautiful.

I like this ice cream, but I don't know if it can truthfully be called honey ice cream. Most likely if I were to give this to someone to eat, then ask them what flavor it was, they'd say vanilla or sweet cream or something else. The taste of the honey is too subtle. What's amusing is that I first thought, after sampling the warm custard, that the honey would be too intense and that I had ruined the ice cream. Silly me! The cream folded in right before freezing really mellowed out the honey. I think the ice cream tastes like marshmallows; hubby thinks it tastes like sugar cones. Dad's not sure, except he picks up a bit of a honey aftertaste. But Dad and I like the ice cream. Hubby doesn't, but then again, he doesn't like a lot of what I make.


If I were attempting to get a more truly honey flavored ice cream, I'd increase the amount of honey and decrease the amount of sugar. That's a big if. Honey can get so cloyingly overpowering so quickly that I'm still not sure how well a honey ice cream would work. As it is, this sweet stuff needs a counterbalance; I shaved bittersweet chocolate over it, which worked nicely. I think it's a fair dessert.

Honey Ice Cream
(adapted from Nigella Lawson, Forever Summer, egg-custard ice cream, pg 224)

• 2 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup honey
  
• 6 egg yolks
• 7 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream

In a large saucepan, heat milk and honey, making sure to stir well to incorporate the honey into the milk. Heat until scalded (just before it boils). Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 20 minutes. There really isn't any steeping going on, but I kept this step for a couple reasons: 1, I felt if the honey were heated up, it would mix into the milk better (it did); and 2, I wanted the milk to cool down to the same temperature as before and I wasn't sure what that was.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar. Slowly whisk in the warm milk and honey mixture. Rinse the saucepan, then return the mixture to the pan. Fill the bottom few inches of the sink with cold water, in case the custard begins to separate while it cooks. If it beginss to look like it's separating, plunge the pan into the water and whisk like the devil.

Over medium heat and STIRRING CONSTANTLY, cook the mixture until it thickens into a velvety, delicious custard. This should take about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Place the bowl in the water and let cool, stirring occasionally.
 
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until chilled completely. Right before you're ready to freeze the ice cream in the ice cream machine, whip the cream until it is thick (but not stiff) and fold it into the custard. Then, follow your ice cream machine's instructions.