Raspberry Lavender Ice Cream

It's been hot all over Europe for weeks now and the never ending summer calls for cooling ice cream treats. I felt inspired to make plant-based ice cream using coconut milk as the base, infused with raspberries, lavender and a hint of vanilla.

I fell for lavender ice cream for the first time back in 2010 on a vacation in Nice, France. This love story continued when I studied abroad in Nice in 2012, where I probably ate lavender ice cream every single day (and became the best costumer of the tiny ice cream vendor in the Old Town of the city). My love for the flavor of lavender in ice cream has remained, even though I have to say it's a rare find. So what do you do? You make it yourself! Let me introduce you to the upgraded and healthier version of lavender ice cream: Plant-based Raspberry Lavender Ice Cream! You only need 5 ingredients and the ice cream tastes delicious. Open up to the magic of flowers in your ice cream and try it out! 

With much love:

The Recipe

Ingredients

2 cans of coconut milk

1/3 cup honey or agave syrup (to make it vegan)

2 tsp lavender

1/4 tsp ground vanilla

1 cup (+ optional a handful) of frozen raspberries

Equipment needed

small pot, whisk, blender, popsicle molds or food container

Instructions

Mix the coconut milk with honey or agave syrup, lavender, and vanilla in a small pot. Heat it up and keep on whisking, but avoid boiling it.

Take the milk from the stove and add a cup of raspberries, stir it a bit. Let the milk cool down before you pour it into your blender, especially, if your blender is made out of plastic. (Plastic releases harmful chemicals, particularly when heated!)

Once the mix has cooled down, blend it until you have a smooth liquid.

You can put a raspberry each into the popsicle molds before transferring the ice cream mix into the molds. Freeze for a couple of hours (about 3 should be enough).

If you don't want to make popsicles, use a food container instead. Transfer the liquid into the food container and throw in a handful of raspberries. Freeze for a couple of hours (at least 5-6) and remember to stir the ice cream once every hour, to make sure it does not become an ice block, but creamy. (If you have an ice cream maker, you can ignore this recommendation, of course).

Bon appétit!