Foodiva's Kitchen: Lemon Curd and Lavender Ice Cream

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Lemon Curd and Lavender Ice Cream

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.
~ Anthony J. D'Angelo 

Sometimes, life's like that. Cloudy and depressing, but I always try to never forget how things looked when the sun was out, shining its warmth down on us. And so when the sun's taking a break or given up temporarily, I go ahead and make my own. Fake sunshine, that is. This ranks somewhere alongside a fake tan, or fake flowers even...you know it's not real, but oh, it's still exudes beauty!


So what am I going on about, exactly? Lemons, of course! Life's lemons. Thrown hard like a curveball and hitting me right between the eyes....in fact, I'm still reeling from the impact. The last few days, the sun disappeared momentarily on me, and all I saw were stars (albeit of the dazed and hallucinatory kind).  


Still, I refuse to bow down to life's hard knocks. Instead, I'll just take the lemons and turn them into something beautiful, something satisfying, something that symbolizes a slap in the face to the things that try to take us down with them. I'm really not giving you much of a story here, am I?


Okay, let's just say I had a pretty rough weekend and past couple of days because that's life, you know. And I'm living it large so whatever the consequences, they also tend to come in a size 'L'. This weekend was most probably an 'XL'!

BUT enough. Who's in the mood for ice cream? Lemon curd ice cream, to be precise. Because I've opened up my jar of sunshine (a.k.a. lemon curd jar) and turned it into something delicious, an ice cream that's buttery and tangy at the same time, a taste of it will wash away your blues. At least for a while.


And I've sprinkled lavender sugar in the lemon curd cream to bring a touch of floral to the ice cream. Lavender, lemon and butter - I've often thrown these trio of ingredients together in my cakes and I know the flavors go really beautifully together. This was the first time I ever combined them in a frozen dessert but I somehow wasn't too worried about how it would all turn out. And I was right... I think I might have just made my own sunshine.


I served mine over a bed of fresh strawberry compote and wholemeal waffle toasts (that's just two pieces of toast grilled in a waffle-maker). Of course, not before I had several spoonfuls straight out of the container and was politely reminded that hey, I still had a photoshoot to do!

The recipe I'm about to give you is super-simple, it's unbelievable. It's also super-sinful, but that's a whole other story. Yes, you can make your own lemon curd from scratch and grow your own lavender, but why bother? I bought mine from the store. And the end result still made me happy. :)

Lemon Curd and Lavender Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons dried lavender buds
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup Mascarpone
170g/6 oz lemon curd

Method:
1. Grind sugar and lavender buds in a processor until very fine. You can sieve the powder to remove the bits from the flowers, but it's fine to leave them in too (I did). Use this lavender sugar in the mixture below.
2. In a bowl, whisk cream, mascarpone, lemon curd and lavender sugar together until well-blended. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm. Best consumed within a 3-4 days of making.

21 comments:

leaf (the indolent cook) said...

Simple and the marriage of tangy and floral flavours sound beautiful!

Nancy said...

Maya, I'm sorry you've had some rough days lately. I like your attitude of making your own sunshine and moving on:) The ice cream looks incredible. I love lemon and lavender together. I thought it was waffles in your pictures, but toast? How creative and neat. Thanks for sharing and I'm so glad to see you posting again. Big hugs sweetie!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Totally gorgeous...and such a yummy combination of flavors!!! Sending you some sunshine and a big hug, my friend...

the [sugar] apothecary said...

Again... I cannot believe how ridiculously delicious this looks! This really might push me over the edge into purchasing an ice cream maker attachment (something I've been avoiding for fear of also needing to purchase new pants). Lemon curd, lavender, butter... Oh sweet, chilly beautiful sunshine in a dish! Love your waffle toast idea, by the way.

And HUGS for you, my friend. Hope everythIng is okay! Please let me know if you need anything... Just Instagram me the Bat signal. Xoxo

Unknown said...

I like your sunshine in a bowl! I keep thinking about making lemon curd but have never thought about using it this way;-)

Cher Rockwell said...

First of all, you had me at the phrase "lemon curd" - after that, I was all yours :-)
Secondly, hugs. I hope that you are able to find peace at the end of whatever it is that you are working through. Thinking of you.

Kiri W. said...

What a gorgeous, gorgeous treat. Lavender is such a wonderful flavor, and lemon curd... mmm, heavenly!

Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts said...

I don't think I have ever had lavender before, but I can only imagine how well it pairs with the lemon curd. Looks beautiful!

Sandra said...

This is perfection in the mouth, Maya! I love how you made this! Wonderful job as always honey!xoxo

Aarthi said...

yummy icecream

Aarthi
YUMMY TUMMY

Lora said...

This is stunnng enough to wash away any blues. Wow!

Unknown said...

Sorry to hear you had a rough weekend. :( Totally sucks when life is like that. But this ice cream definitely sounds cheery and like it would make you feel better. Sounds delish. Hope it helped!! xoxo.

Unknown said...

Nancy, Lizzy, Christine and Cher, thank you ladies for your lovely comments and hugs. I definitely feel much better knowing you guys are around - albeit being all over the place! I'm sending you all a BIG hug back, and also some sunshine from our shores <3.

Jean (Lemons and Anchovies) said...

Maya, I love your attitude. You don't let challenges get you down. I always try to remember (and some days it's harder to do it than others) that even if you can't control your circumstances, you can control how you react to them. I hope things are much better now. I know my day would be much brighter if I had some of this ice cream to enjoy. :)

Unknown said...

Aww Jean, thanks. You and me, I guess we are survivors! Yes, what you said about what you can and cannot control is definitely true, but it doesn't get any easier with age nor practice. Eating the ice cream does help enormously, though. :)

www.you-made-that.com said...

Your quote is so true, and I like your way of bringing sunshine with this yummy ice-cream I have lemon curd in my frig and I just might have to whip the up! I like the lavender too great flavors and super fun vibrant photos.

Kathy said...

Oh Maya, This looks so appetizing and beautiful! Lovely job!

Lazaro Cooks said...

Hope the sun shines brighter for you tomorrow. Some sunshine in a bowl can't hurt though. Lovely recipe. Love the combo of bright flavors with lavender.

Be well

Daisy@Nevertoosweet said...

I've never thought of this combination :) I've never made anything with lavendar at home ~ but I can imagine this combo being epic hehe the tanginess from lemons and the fragrance smell from lavender YUM YUM!

Gina said...

I always bring my own sunshine where ever I go. I hope it's returned for you, if not let me know and I'll come bring you some. Missed hanging out over here and checking out all the goodies. We all have those stormy days, hope they passed quickly.
Hugs and Happy Easter,
-Gina-

Priscilla said...

Ice cream, especially with the sunny flavors you've included, has brightened many a day! I hope things are looking up for you, Maya :) I always felt there was some truth in the saying that bad things come in threes, which can make life very overwhelming by the time you've weathered the third. *hugs* Happy Easter!

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