Lavender Dark Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
by Sommer Collier — on Jul 10, 2023 
Lavender Dark Chocolate Chip Ice Cream – Rich, creamy, and fragrant Lavender Dark Chocolate Chip Ice Cream recipe. Lt. Dan’s absolute favorite ice cream recipe, hands down!
Lavender Ice Cream with Fresh Herbs
We’re making Lavender Dark Chocolate Chip Ice Cream today, fresh and fragrant!
If there is anything I love to shop for, it’s fresh herbs.
I’m often found standing in the produce department (or at the farmer’s market) with bouquets of greenery under my nose, placidly inhaling their intoxicating scent.
I kneel amongst my flowerbeds tenderly rubbing their leaves between my fingers, to accentuate the earthy perfume.
I can’t wait, until my beds are full of mint, basil, thyme, dill, and lavender. In my mind, no dish is complete without a fresh aromatic herb!
Homemade Ice Cream Recipe
Lavender is an herb that comes and goes in culinary popularity. Known for its piney, yet floral essence, it’s considered a wonderful accompaniment to mild proteins like chicken and fish.
Personally, I think lavender deserves a little more credit. Its flavor may be subtle at first, but has an accumulative quality that can hold its own against strong flavors like lemon, or even chocolate.
In today’s Lavender Dark Chocolate Chip Ice Cream recipe, I’ve paired lavender with dark chocolate for a surprisingly balanced and bewitching frozen treat!
This Lavender Dark Chocolate Chip Ice Cream puts most mint chip ice creams to shame, and is a pleasant departure from your everyday freezer-aisle flavors.
What Ingredients You Will Need
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch salt
- 2 1/2 tablespoons dried lavender buds, or 4 tablespoons fresh chopped lavender
- 1 vanilla bean, or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1-2 drops of purple food coloring, optional
- 4 ounces dark chocolate bar
Note: No eggs or egg yolk is needed in this recipe!
How to Make Lavender Ice Cream
Pour the cream, half-and-half, sugar, and salt into a medium saucepan. Place the pot over medium heat until it comes to a low simmer.
If using a vanilla bean, cut the bean down the center lengthwise. Carefully open the bean and scrape out the paste. Add the buds and vanilla paste to the cream mixture. Stir; then remove from heat and cover. *Add a drop or two of food coloring if you want to enhance the lavender color.
Place the covered pot in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to cool. (If you’re in a hurry, place it in an airtight container and put it in the freezer for 1 hour until thoroughly chilled, but NOT frozen!)
Once the ice cream base mixture is chilled, strain out the lavender buds and pour into an ice cream maker. Churn for 20+ minutes until the desired consistency is reached.
Meanwhile, chop the chocolate bar into fine shards for your mix-ins. Add the chocolate to the ice cream maker. Churn until the chocolate is evenly distributed. Serve immediately or put in an airtight container and freeze.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does this ice cream last?
You can keep this ice cream in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let the container sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to soften a bit before you scoop it with an ice cream scoop and serve it in a bowl or waffle cone.
What other lavender recipes do you have?
Here are three additional lavender recipes: Lavender Lemon Tom Collins, French Lavender Lemonade, and Creamy Lavender Flan.
Are there any benefits to eating this lavender ice cream flavor?
You can put lavender in many different recipes. Some benefits that people have noticed when increasing their lavender intake are relief from migraines, help to regulate sleep cycles, or some improvement in your hair and skin’s health.
Other Great Dessert Recipes
- Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
- Coconut Milk Churn Ice Cream (Dairy Free)
- 4-Ingredient Avocado Vegan Ice Cream
- Vodka Gummy Bears Popsicles
- Chocolate Dipped Ice Cream Cones
- Banana Pudding Ice Cream (No-Churn!)
- Banana Pudding Milkshake with Fresh Bananas
- Indian Ice Cream (Kulfi)
- Raspberry Sweet Buns
- Buster Bar Ice Cream Cake
- Homemade Caramel Sauce Whipped Cream by The Travel Palate
- Peanut Butter Custard Base Ice Cream by Ice Cream From Scratch
- Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream by A Latte Food
Lavender Dark Chip Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch salt
- 2 1/2 tablespoons dried lavender buds, or 4 tablespoons fresh chopped lavender
- 1 vanilla bean, or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 1-2 drops purple food coloring, optional
- 4 ounces dark chocolate bar
Instructions
- Pour the cream, half-and-half, sugar, and salt into a medium sauce pot. Place the pot over medium heat until it comes to a low simmer.
- If using a vanilla bean, cut the bean down the center lengthwise. Carefully open the bean and scrape out the paste. Add the buds and vanilla paste to the cream mixture. Stir; then remove from heat and cover. *Add a drop or two of food coloring if you want to enhance the lavender color.
- Place the covered pot in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to cool. (If you’re in a hurry, place it an airtight container and put in the freezer for 1 hour until thoroughly chilled, but NOT frozen!)
- Once the mixture is chilled, strain out the lavender buds and pour into an ice cream maker. Churn for 20+ minutes until the desired consistency is reached.
- Meanwhile, chop the chocolate bar into fine shards. Add the chocolate to the ice cream maker. Churn until the chocolate is evenly distributed. Serve immediately or put in an airtight container and freeze.
Such a gorgeous color.
totally a yummy and unique recipe, this looks great!!
This is such a pretty color – love that you used lavender to flavor this ice cream. Super fun!
Beautiful ice cream – fantastic color. I love using lavender salt on steaks and fish, but haven’t considered using lavender in desserts…until now.
This looks great- so rich and complex! The pics are great too!
What a beautiful ice cream! The color is so soft and gently, and I can only imagine how good this must taste. I, too, am so excited for my garden to be filled with fresh herbs.
Wow!! I’m so in awe of your beautiful, crisp photos!! Again…all I can say is WOW!! I follow you on Twitter, but very happy that you contacted me on Stumble Upon…which brought me to your blog. Chow and Chatter (Rebecca) recommended your blog when I asked her on Twitter about other NC food bloggers. I’m now subscribed & look forward to reading you on a regular basis.
The mountains of NC are beautiful! I moved to NC when I was 10 and moved away at 19…but visit regularly as I still have family all over. I lived in Winston-Salem, and have family there. My brother is in Sylva (but used to live in Asheville) which isn’t too far from Asheville (SW)…my grandparents have a home in Burnsville (NW), and my father in law lives in Asheville (as well as here in South Florida). We were just there over Thanksgiving weekend, and hope to get back up there next year…hopefully this time to see “snow.” I have 3 girls, and were born here in Florida, only lived here & have never seen snow. They think they are SO deprived ;)
I look foward to visiting your beautiful blog. You are very talented!
Denise @ Creative Kitchen
Thanks for the add on twitter! I love your site :) This ice cream looks incredible! Putting an ice cream maker on my wishlist!
looks so heavenly sweet…with the combination of lavander , it makes the ice cream more interesting…I’ve got to try this one, I wonder if I can use lavander to other confections???
Sounds and look delicious!
Congrats on the Foodbuzz pick! My husband and I have been looking at ice cream makers and I told him I wanted to try and make Lavendar ice cream! Looks terrific – great job :)
THESE PHOTOS ARE SUPER FANTASTICALLY AMAZING! I don’t think there could be a bad ice cream flavor combination which includes dark chocolate, but I feel indulged just from seeing how beautifully you presented this special treat.