This is one of our go-tos when the temperatures and humidity climb into the stratosphere and we need to cool off. While playing around with various tea-infused ice creams, we were quite surprised by what a refreshing flavor chamomile turned out to be—perfect for the hottest days of summer. Highlighted by a bit of mild local honey, a spoonful of this ice cream conjures up summer’s warm, golden light and a gentle breeze. I’ve never been a fan of chamomile tea, so it came as a surprise to find out how much I loved this flavor—herbaceous and refreshing, it’s everything you want summer ice cream to be.
MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1½ tablespoons (27 grams) mild honey
⅓ cup (60 grams) loose chamomile flowers
¼ teaspoon (1 gram) kosher salt
6 large egg yolks
½ cup (100 grams) sugar
1. Pour the cream and milk into a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water). Whisk in the honey, chamomile flowers, and salt and stir until the honey and salt have dissolved. Warm the mixture until you see steam rising from the top. Remove from the heat, cover, and let the mixture steep for 5 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl; discard the chamomile in the strainer. Return the dairy mixture to the double boiler.
2. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and set another bowl over it. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, with a kitchen towel underneath it to prevent slipping, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until uniform. While whisking, add a splash of the hot dairy mixture to the yolks. Continue to add the dairy mixture, whisking it in bit by bit, until you’ve added about half. Add the yolk mixture to the remaining dairy mixture in the double boiler. Set the heat under the double boiler to medium and cook the custard, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon and reducing the heat to medium-low as necessary, until steam begins to rise from the surface and the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Hold the spoon horizontally and run your finger through the custard. If the trail left by your finger stays separated, the custard is ready to be cooled.
4. Strain the custard into the bowl sitting over the prepared ice bath and stir for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the custard has cooled. Transfer the custard to a quart-size container, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight.
5. Pour the chilled custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place the container in which you refrigerated the custard in the freezer so you can use it to store the finished ice cream. Churn the ice cream until the texture resembles “soft serve.” Transfer the ice cream to the chilled storage container and freeze until hardened to your desired consistency. Alternatively, you can serve it immediately—it will be the consistency of gelato. The ice cream will keep, frozen, for up to 7 days.
ben’s note Seek out loose chamomile flowers in health food, tea, or spice shops, rather than buying premanufactured chamomile tea bags. You will see that in the bags, the contents look more like wood dust and are far less fragrant than loose dried chamomile buds. If you look for the latter, your ice cream will be truly stunning and memorable!