Lemon Verbena Ice Cream Pie

We topped our ice cream pie with phlox and roses, plus a few lemon verbena sprigs, but any edible flowers will work. Remember: Not all flowers, including most florist flowers, are meant for consumption.

Lemon Verbena Ice Cream Pie
Photo: Dana Gallagher
Hands On Time:
50 mins
Total Time:
6 hrs
Servings:
8

Ingredients

Lemon Verbena Ice Cream

  • 1 cup milk

  • ½ cup fresh lemon verbena leaves or 4 teaspoons lemon zest

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  • ¾ cup sugar

  • 3 egg yolks

  • 1 ½ cup heavy cream

  • 2 teaspoon vanilla

Ginger Shortbread Crust

  • ½ cup butter, softened

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • ¼ cup sugar

  • 2 tablespoon finely chopped candied ginger

  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  • Herbs and edible flowers, such as lemon verbena, phlox, and/or roses

Directions

  1. For Lemon Verbena Ice Cream: In a medium saucepan heat milk and verbena or zest just to a simmer over high. Remove from heat; let steep about 30 minutes. Stir in salt.

  2. In a medium bowl whisk together sugar and egg yolks until thick and pale. Return milk to a simmer. Gradually whisk 1/2 cup milk mixture into egg mixture. Continue whisking until smooth. Slowly add egg mixture to saucepan, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over medium-low until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and just starting to bubble. Stir in cream. Press through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Stir in vanilla.

  3. Set mixture in an ice bath to chill, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a 2-qt. ice cream freezer. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

  4. For Ginger Shortbread Crust: Grease a 9-inch pie plate. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl beat butter with a mixer on medium 30 seconds. Add flour, sugar, candied ginger, ground ginger, and salt. Beat until a soft dough forms.

  5. Press dough evenly into prepared pie plate. Line with a double thickness of greased foil. Fill to top with pie weights. Bake 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 10 to 12 minutes more or until dark golden brown. Let cool completely. Freeze at least 1 hour.

  6. Spread ice cream into crust. Freeze at least 4 hours or until ice cream is firm. Let stand at room temperature 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Top with herbs and edible flowers. Makes 10 servings.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

459 Calories
30g Fat
43g Carbs
5g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 8
Calories 459
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 30g 38%
Saturated Fat 19g 95%
Cholesterol 153mg 51%
Sodium 248mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 43g 16%
Total Sugars 28g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0.5mg 3%
Calcium 84.4mg 6%
Iron 1.3mg 7%
Potassium 157mg 3%
Fatty acids, total trans 1g
Folate, total 42.8mcg
Vitamin B-12 0.4mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.1mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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