Poslfit Recipes: Lilac Ice Cream

2 c. (450 g) water (can be halved, see below)

2 c. (400 g) sugar (any white sugar will do)

3 quarts (3 L) of freshly picked lilac blossoms in full bloom

1 c. (240 g) whole milk

2 large eggs (105 g)

½ c. (100 g) additional sugar (granulated white)

1 c. (250 g) whipping cream (35% fat)

outer zest of one lemon (3 g)

I tried making this for the first time for Mother’s Day in 2024, so this is more of a record of this experience than a recipe. I will update it with future trials; feel free to ask me questions about it at poslfit@gmail.com.

The lilacs should be picked as soon as they are fully in bloom. Lilacs bloom better when pruned carefully and frequently. You usually don't prune them when they're in bloom, but if you forgot to do it earlier, you can combine this harvesting with therapeutic pruning.

I am told that all lilacs are edible, but that they vary in flavour. I am not personally fond of the idea of floral ice creams, but wanted to indulge my wife, and the result was one that I found palatable. They key points are to taste the custard to make sure the sugar offsets any bitterness coming from stems that you overlooked, and that the lemon zest cuts both the sweetness and any cloying floral flavour or aroma.

I was concerned that the recipe might be a bit runny, especially because I didn't use any starch. Normally, I would include 1 T. (15 g) of flour to thicken the custard, and I will try it this way next time. It turned out fine though: very smooth, and no ice crystals, just much closer to melty than chewy.

I was also concerned that the sugar in the lilac syrup might make the overall recipe too sweet. The citrus helped a lot with this, and I don't see any easy way to reduce the sweetness. I compensate by recommending that it be served one scoop or quenelle at a time, with a cup of unsweetened hot tea.

You will need a heat source (preferably a cooktop, although in a pinch you could make do with a microwave oven), an ice cream maker (or at least a very cold freezer, a spoon, and a lot of patience), a whisk, a Thermapen (or a good sense about the temperature of foods), measuring utensils and mixing bowls.

From start to finish, it took me about 12 hours to get this recipe to the soft-servable stage, of which the last half hour or so was mostly unattended operation of the ice cream maker; then another few hours in the freezer chest to set the ice cream to a firm consistency. Of this, 1½–2 hours is spent working or watching things in the kitchen. The most labour-intensive part was the hour spent removing the florets from the blooms. The least labour-intensive part was letting the lilac florets steep for eight hours to make lilac syrup.

The basic recipe is fairly tolerant of ingredient proportions, so don’t worry if you're over or under on any given quantity by 10%.

Remove the florets from the blooms, yielding about 4 c. (160 g). You'd think volume measurements would be inaccurate, but lilac blossoms are quite springy and strong-willed about retaining a certain shape and volume. Try to make sure you exclude any green stems, but don't panic if you include a few. As I said, this is the most labour-intensive part; I did it while binging two TV episodes.

Rinse the florets in a fine-mesh sieve until they rinse clean. Reserve a few for garnishes.

In a small saucepan, bring the water and the first quantity of sugar to a boil. Reduce heat, add florets (they will form a floating mat, but eventually sink), and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Many people add black currants or blackberries at this point to add colour. Turn off the heat and let steep covered for 8 hours.

At this point, you should have at least 2 c. (0.5 L) of lilac simple syrup. Try tasting it, to see how lilacky it is. You should only need half of it (1 c. or 0.25 L) for what follows. You can freeze the rest, or keep it for up to a week in the fridge, using it for cocktails or other recipes. You are now ready to actually start making ice cream.

Whisk the rest of the sugar into the eggs until slightly thickened and pale yellow. If we were adding flour, this is where we would whisk it in.

Heat the milk to 80°C (170°F) in a small saucepan, whisking constantly. You can do this at very high heat if you have the nerve and attention, or at moderate or low heat if you do not.

Pour the milk into the eggs slowly, while whisking the eggs to distribute the heat quickly and minimize curdling.

Pour the whole custard back into the pot and bring back to 80°C (170°F). Remove immediately from heat, and set aside to cool slightly. If you're new to ice cream making, or unsure, pass the custard through a sieve to check for and remove any curdled bits.

Stir in the whipping cream, and mix thoroughly.

Stir in the lemon zest and 1 c. (250 mL) of the lilac simple syrup, and mix thoroughly. I did this in thirds, tasting after each step; your flavours may vary. Remember that the flavours (and in particular, the sweetness) will be greatly reduced during the chilling process, so it's okay if they seem strong at this point, as long as they are balanced.

Place in freezer for at least an hour, monitoring temperature occasionally and stirring. Try to get the temperature down to about 4°C (39°F), to save time later in the ice cream maker. If it gets much lower than that, and gets too solid, let it warm back up a bit.

Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s ingredients. Place soft ice cream in a freezer for at least an hour to set, and bring out to warm back up (if it's too hard) several minutes before serving. Garnish with reserved (edible) lilac blossoms.