the last supper / ice cream endeavor, part 5: honey lavender / the lightest cheesecake you'll ever eat!

my family is moving out of the 'burbs and into the city this summer. that, in addition to the fact that many of my friends were all leaving at once for their various summer engagements led to to having a last hurrah at my house last weekend.

dinner was very green (homemade pasta with pesto & pinenuts, salad, asparagus, and green beans with ginger & lemon zest)

and i made honey lavender ice cream for dessert, accompanied by my mom's cheesecake. my two favorite ice cream shops (bi-rite creamery and fairfax scoop) both have the most delicious honey lavender ice cream. though after making this, i don't need to go to them anymore for it. it was really really good! though i do still need to go to them for all the other flavors.

note: this ice cream is more time consuming than others; prepare the night before. i didn't chill the custard overnight as suggested, and it came out a bit soft.

lavender-honey ice cream from the perfect scoop

(makes about 1 quart)

1/2 cup good-flavored honey

1/4 cup dried or fresh lavender flowers

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

heat the honey and 2 tablespoons of the lavender in a small saucepan. once warm, remove from the heat and set aside to steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. pour the lavender-infused honey into the cream through the strainer, pressing on the lavender flowers to extract as much flavor as possible, then discard the lavender and set the strainer back over the cream.

in a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. add the remaining 2 tablespoons lavender flowers and stir until cool over an ice bath.

chill the mixture overnight in the refrigerator. the next day, before churning, strain the mixture, again pressing on the lavender flowers to extract their flavor. discard the flowers, sprinkle some back in! then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

for cheesecake:

i'm a fan of this recipe because it's uncharacteristically light. usually cheesecake is heavy and dense but this let the ice cream shine as the foremost flavor. when my friend was getting seconds of dessert, we had run out of ice cream but he asked to pour the leftover dribbles over his cheesecake, like a sauce. the flavors work well together.

raised cheesecake from my mom

1 cup flour

1/4 lb butter, softened

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp sugar

for cheese filling:

1 lb. cream cheese, softened

1 tbsp flour

1/2 cup sugar

4 eggs, separated

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

combine flour and butter in bowl and blend well. stir in egg yolk and sugar. press 1/2 pastry into bottom of 9-inch springform pan. remove rim of springform pan. bake bottom at 400 degrees 3 minutes and cool.

fit rim of springform pan back onto bottom, then press remaining pastry all around inside of rim about halfway up. (don’t worry if height is not even.) lower oven temperature to 350 degrees.

to make the cheese filling, cream cheese until fluffy. add flour and sugar and mix well. add egg yolks, whipping cream, sour cream and vanilla and beat well. beat egg whites with salt until stiff but not dry. fold egg whites into cheese mixture.

pour cheese filling into pan. bake 45 minutes. cool to room temperature and serve. makes 10 servings.