Saffron & Rose Persian Love Ice Cream

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share an extra-special ice cream recipe with you.  This is an ode to my favorite cake, called Persian Love Cake-- it is incredibly light and perfumey.  I have made this cake for extra-special occasions, including baby showers, bridal showers, and even my cousin's wedding.  One of the best parts of the cake is the saffron and rosewater frosting.  This ice cream is a version of that ethereal topping.  It is so exotic and wonderful-- yet uncomplicated to make!



Here's what you'll need:

2 cups of heavy cream (I used 1 cup of the raw cream I bought at the vineyard this weekend)
2 egg yolks
1 small pinch of saffron threads (find it online here)
1/3 cup sugar (honey would also work here, and I actually use xylitol)
2 teaspoons rose water (you can find it here or at an ethnic market)
chopped pistachios (totally optional)
dried or fresh rose petals (also totally optional, but pretty!)

An ice cream maker (this is my favorite one) would be ideal, but because of the very high fat content of this recipe, you could also freeze it in a glass container, and scoop it pretty successfully.

What to do:
1. Pour half of the cream into a saucepan, and add the saffron threads, sugar and egg yolks.

2. Turn the heat on low, and gradually warm the cream.  Use a whisk to incorporate the egg yolks into the cream and keep things moving, whisking more as the mixture thickens.  You are turning the cream into a custard and infusing it with saffron at the same time.  You don't want to boil or simmer the cream-- just heat it until it thickens.
3.  Once the cream mixture has thickened up a bit, turn off the heat.  Add the rose water.  If you're using raw cream for the 2nd cup, you will want to let it cool a few minutes to preserve your cream's unpasteurized goodness.  Add the cold cream, and stir to incorporate.  You are almost done.  Taste it to see if you need a little more sweetness (freezing it will dull the sweetness a little, so you should aim for a tad sweeter than you want your ice cream to taste.)  Also taste that the rosewater is coming through, adding a little more, if needed.
4.  Pour it into your ice cream machine, or into a container to freeze. Give it time to solidify, and then scoop it up!
5. You can garnish the ice cream with rose petals and/ or chopped pistachios, but it's also just wonderful on its own.

 Eat it with someone you love.


By the way, I'll be sending out my very first newsletter this week.  In it, I will share a non-dairy ice cream recipe that will not be published on my blog.  The sign-up is on the upper right-hand corner of this blog, or you can just click here.

This post was shared at Sunday School, Mostly Homemade Mondays,  Fat Tuesday, Family Table, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Party Wave Wednesday, Tasty Traditions, Thank Your Body Thursday, Food on Friday.

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