Lavender and Honey:
Stir snipped fresh or dried lavender and honey into the finished ice cream. For a more intense flavor-before making the ice cream base, add 1/4 cup honey and 2 tablespoons dried lavender with the vanilla bean.
Strawberry and Balsamic Vinegar:
Before stirring strawberries into the ice cream, chop and cook the berries with a little sugar to remove excess water. Cool, puree, then stir into ice cream with a few dashes of balsamic vinegar.
Double Chocolate:
Before heating the cream, stir together 1/4 cup of Dutch process cocoa powder with half the sugar. Whisk in a little of the cream to make a paste. Then whisk in the remaining cream, the milk, and salt.
Blueberry-Lemon Ice Cream Pie
To create an ice cream pie in sundae form, start with a sweet blueberry sauce made by cooking the berries with sugar and a squeeze of lemon until thickened. Pour over the ice cream and finish with crumbled gingersnaps or graham crackers.
Citrus Olive Oil and Sea Salt
Drizzle ice cream with bergamot olive oil (a citrus fruit that gives Earl Grey tea its hint of orange flavor), Meyer lemon, or orange-flavored olive oil will add the same citrusy brightness. Top it all off with a dollop of whipped cream and crunchy coarse sea salt flakes.
Caramelized Banana Sundae
Create a sundae with warm cooked bananas. Start by melting butter and brown sugar in a skillet. Add a couple of split bananas; cook until caramelized. If desired, add a little rum and cook and stir a few minutes. Spoon over ice cream. Top with whipped cream and toasted chopped pecans.
