This ice cream is my obsession. It’s subtle, sweet, floral, rich, and creamy—with an undeniable earthiness from the rose geranium. I’m in love. Don’t ever make it stop.
The idea was born on a trip to Ojai, a tiny town nestled in the hills of Southern California. Visiting my friend and genius chef Sarasai Yutuc, we left bedecked with laurels of rose geranium, rosemary, and orange leaves in our hair. Ok, maybe not laurels in our hair, but she did pick us beautiful bagfuls of rose geranium, pressing them into our hands with these wise words: “Make rose geranium ice cream.”
I’d never made ice cream before, but I was intrigued. Enthralled. I wanted the rose geranium ice cream to be ours. I went home and immediately a) borrowed a friend’s ice cream maker, and b) started combing the internet for ice cream recipes that used herbal infusions in their base. Many thanks to a lovely recipe for fresh mint ice cream from Sift & Whisk, which I heavily adapted for this one.
It’s very easy to make, although you do have to let the ice cream base steep in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight, like I did, to really get its steep on).
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean + the pod
- 1.5 cups washed rose geranium leaves
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons grated beet root for color
Instructions
- Place the churner base of your ice cream maker in the freezer at least 24 hours in advance of when you plan to make this.
- Wash the rose geranium leaves.
- Heat the cream, milk, and honey in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking until steam rises. Don't let it boil.
- Remove from heat and add the vanilla and rose geranium leaves, massaging them gently as you drop them in so the leaves release their oils. Cover the pot and let steep for a half hour, then transfer to an airtight container and let steep for another 2-24 hours (the longer you steep, the stronger the flavor) in the fridge.
- Place the grated beet root into a small bowl and pour in a bit of water. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, until the water turns a deep magenta. Strain out the beets and set juice aside.
- Once the base has steeped, strain out the rose geranium and vanilla bean (if you used one) and whisk in 2 egg yolks.
- Transfer to a saucepan over medium heat and whisk until the mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon, or until it reaches 170º F. This will take 10-20 minutes depending on range temperature. Don't let the mixture boil.
- Remove from heat and strain the custard through a mesh sieve to ensure you don't have any eggy clumps. Let the mixture cool down, then return to an airtight container and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
- Whisk in a teaspoon or more of beet juice for color. Freeze the custard in your prepared ice cream maker until the consistency is smooth and thick, then transfer to an airtight container and put in the freezer for a couple of hours.
