Lemon Verbena Ice Cream
A delicious, refreshing ice cream made from fresh lemon verbena
Servings 8 servings
- 1 3/4 cups (15-18g) gently packed fresh lemon verbena leaves
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) heavy cream
- 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 lemon
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon very finely chopped dried or fresh lemon verbena leaves, to crumble in the just-churned ice cream
- In a medium saucepan, warm the lemon verbena leaves with the milk, 1/2 cup (125ml) of the cream, the sugar, a pinch of salt, and a few swipes of grated lemon zest.
- Once warm, remove from heat, cover, and let steep for one hour. (For more flavor, you can let it steep in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.)
- To make the ice cream custard, pour the remaining cream into a large bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water, and put a mesh strainer on top.
- Use a strainer or slotted spoon to skim the lemon verbena from the cream & milk mixture and squeeze the leaves to extract as much liquid as possible back into the saucepan, then discard them. Rewarm the lemon verbena-infused cream & milk.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together in a small bowl and slowly pour in the warm infusion, whisking constantly.
- Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan and cook, stirring continuously with a heatproof spatula over medium heat, until the custard leaves a trail on the spatula when you drag your finger across it. (If using a thermometer, it should read about 175ºF, or 79ºC.)
- Immediately strain the custard into the bowl of cream. Stir until cool.
- Chill thoroughly. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice into the ice cream base then freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When done, stir the finely-chopped dried or fresh lemon verbena leaves into the churned ice cream.