Honey Lavender Ice Cream with Golden Raspberries in Lavender Syrup

Here is a delightlgul ice cream that I have been making for years. It comes from the original "Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook" by Alice Waters. I usually don't care much for Lavender as a flavoring-mostly because it is just so easy to over do it and it seems like you're eating a bag of pot pourri. Here I used just a whisper of lavender to perfume the ice cream and also the syrup for the raspberries. One bite transports you to the South of France and sunny Provence.

4 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup robust honey (preferably one local to your area)

5 egg yolks

a lavender blossom

In a double boiler over hot water, whisk 3 cups of the cream, honey, and eggs. Whisk continually until the mixture thickens, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the lavender blossom and let steep for 1 minute, taste for the lavender. If you want a more pronounced lavender flavor, let the custard steep longer. Strain the custard and chill thoroughly-I usually let the custard chill overnight to make the creamiest textured ice cream.

For the Raspberries:

1 pint golden raspberries, washed

1 cup water

1 cup Splenda (or sugar, of course-we're trying to cut down on sugar-the Splenda worked well)

1 Lavender blossom

Bring the water and splenda to the boil, add the berries and simmer til the berries just barely soften. Turn off the heat and add the Lavendar-again taste until you achieve the right Lavendar accent, remove the blossom and chill the berries until you're ready to serve them.