I just discovered this dreamy flavor combination of blueberry + lavender + honey and I want to share!  I made two blueberry pies this past weekend and honey lavender ice cream to top it. I had been searching for recipes and ideas to use the dried culinary lavender my in-laws brought back for me from their trip to Provence.  Can I tell you, my eyes literally rolled to the back of my head when I tasted the ice cream.  As if that wasn't ecstasy enough, add it to a warm slice of blueberry pie...bliss.  

A lot of the preparation can (should) be done in advance.  For example, you can make your pie crust up to 3 days in advance of actual baking day to lessen the workload - the dough needs to rest in the fridge at least 1 hour preferably overnight anyway.  As for the ice cream, there are steps to do in advance too but luckily active prep work is quite minimal - there's just a lot of passive waiting which admittedly can cause hardship when you want ice cream right now.   The prepared custard will need to fully chill before churning at least a few hours up to overnight.  Then the churned ice cream will need to set and harden in the freezer, preferably overnight. So give yourself one or two overnights, depending what time you begin in the day.

And get excited!  

{Special equipment needed:  ice cream maker, candy thermometer} 

{ PART 1 }   Honey Lavender Ice Cream

Adapted from epicurious.com.  Recipe makes about 1 quart.

Ingredients

1.5C whipping cream (35% fat), preferably organic

1.5C whole milk, preferably organic

1/3C mild honey (for example, honey harvested in the Spring has a milder taste. If you are unsure, taste your honey and decrease amount to your liking if it is a strong one)

1 tbsp dried culinary (edible) lavender flowers

2 large eggs

1/8 tsp salt

Splash of St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, optional

Method

1. Bring cream, milk, honey, and lavender just to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, then remove pan from heat. Let steep, covered, 15 minutes.  Taste it!  Different lavender can have varying intensity of flavor.  If you don't want your ice cream tasting like potpourri, make sure you check the flavor before moving on. If you want more lavender flavor, allow it to steep longer.

2. Pour cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard lavender. Return mixture to cleaned saucepan and heat over moderate heat until hot.

3. Whisk together eggs and salt in a large bowl, then add 1 cup hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Pour into remaining hot cream mixture in saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 to 175°F on thermometer, about 5 minutes (do not let boil).

4. Pour custard through sieve into cleaned bowl and cool completely, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

5. Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

{ PART 2 }   Blueberry Pie

Recipe from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book, the only change was omitting the lavender oil from the pie filling since it was being topped with lavender flavored ice cream.  I didn't want the lavender to overpower the dessert.  If you want to make it a 'Blueberry Lavender' pie, go for it and add a few drops of lavender oil to the filling.

Ingredients

Your favorite pie crust dough, enough for a 9" double crust pie* 

1 small baking apple

5 to 6C fresh blueberries (about 2 pounds)

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2C granulated sugar

1/4C packed light brown sugar

3 tbsp ground arrowroot (can sub corn starch if you don't have)

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Egg wash (1 large egg whisked with 1 tsp water and a pinch of salt)

Demerara sugar, for finishing

*Pie dough:  I made an all-butter crust from the same book.  If you want a full lattice and decorations like mine pictured, make 3x single crusts so you have enough dough to work with.  I gave this same tip here on the FoodNetwork Canada site :)

Method

1. Have ready and refrigerated one pastry-lined 9" pie pan and pastry round or lattice to top.

2. Peel and shred apple on large holes of box grater. In a large bowl, combine with blueberries, lemon juice, granulated and brown sugars, arrowroot, allspice, salt and bitters and stir well until mixed, using your hands to crush some of the blueberries in the process.  Pour filling into the refrigerated pie shell.  Arrange lattice or pastry round on top and crimp as desired.

3. Chill the pie in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set.  Meanwhile, position oven racks in bottom and center positions, place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack and preheat the oven to 425f.

4. Brush pastry with egg wash.  Sprinkle with demerara sugar all over.

5. Carefully place pie on the rimmed baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven.  Bake 20-25 minutes or when pastry is beginning to brown. Lower temperature to 375f and move the pie (along with the baking sheet to catch filling overflows) to the middle oven rack and continue baking until pastry is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 30-35 minutes  longer.

6. Cool completely on a wire rack, 2 to 3 hours to allow filling to set properly.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  The pie will keep refrigerated for 3 days or at room temperature for 2 days.  

{  PART 3  }  The best part, serve and eat!

If you are making the pie in advance and chilled, it can be reheated in a 350f oven for about 30 minutes and it will taste like you just baked it fresh!  Serve pie slice with a generous scoop of honey lavender ice cream on top.  Divine!

Enjoy xx