The 2011 Book Blogger's Cookbook

Fear-Faire Lavender Custard

Fear-Faire Lavender Custard

for Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Fear in Gaelic translates to grass, or nature and faire to watching. Put together, fear-faire means a sentinel, just like the constant watchmen who keep Laurel safe. I don't think this ice cream has life-saving qualities, but the addition of nature to your dessert just might brighten your day.

Fear-Faire Lavender Custard is punctuated with a mild lavender bitterness. Wings and Spells, by Aprilynne Pike are much the same: a delightful faerie world in its loveliness, with the bittersweet taste of impossible love.

A few months ago, my dad told me about a recipe for rosemary ice cream that he makes for his restaurant. In Pike's book, Laurel can sense the natural elements of a dish and adds plants to bring out those natural flavors. Adding herbs to ice cream reminds me of a scene where Laurel attempts to enhance her father's leftovers.

This recipe can be made with any herb-lavender, rosemary, basil, mint. I chose lavender because that is one of the many herbs Laurel uses in the book.

Herbed ice cream goes great with fruit pies (apple, yum!). I drizzled a bit of maple syrup on the top to sweeten mine.

2 cups heavy cream 

1 cup half-and-half 

1/2 cup mild honey 

2 tablespoons dried edible lavender flowers or leaves 

1 teaspoon real vanilla 

4 egg yolks 

1/8 teaspoon salt 

In a 2-quart, heavy saucepan, bring the cream, half-and-half, honey, and lavender just to a boil over moderate heat. Remove pan from the heat. Add vanilla. Let steep, covered, 30 minutes.

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

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

Cool completely, stirring occasionally. Cover and chill until cold, at least 3 hours.

Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker. Place the custard in an airtight container and put it in freezer to harden.

Custard will last in the freezer for 1 week.

Bloggers Say:

“Wings left us gripped in a love triangle with David and Tamani. Both are such beloved characters that I couldn't pick a side. With the conclusion of Spells, I still feel both characters are amazing, but my heart has been won over by one of them.”

~Katie at Mundie Moms Book Reviews

Full review: http://tinyurl.com/mundiemoms

“[Wings] was hard for me to put down and had the perfect amount of romance, friendship, and action. The ending was fantastic. I'd definitely recommend it.”

~Jessica at Shut Up! I'm Reading

Full review: http://tinyurl.com/shutupimreading

“Wings is a great debut novel with a well-knitted plot, and if you like faeries, you should most definitely give this book a try. It's like nothing you've ever read before!”

~Tynga at Tynga's Reviews

Full review: http://tinyurl.com/tyngasreviews