Fig Leaf and Honey Ice Cream

Fig Leaf and Honey Ice Cream

Fresh fig leaves taste nothing like figs. Steeped in warm cream, they release a green, slightly coconut like flavor that is hard to place until you have tasted it, closer to tonka bean or toasted hay than anything fruity. This fig leaf and honey ice cream comes from David Lebovitz, the American food writer and former Chez Panisse pastry chef, who discovered the flavor while living in Paris and pairing the ice cream with ripe figs from a local market. Part of our recipe collection.

The technique is a classic custard base, egg yolks, cream, milk and sugar cooked gently until it coats a spoon, but the fig leaf infusion is what makes it worth seeking out. It needs fresh leaves straight from a fig tree, not a shop, which makes it a genuinely seasonal project for late summer when fig trees are in full leaf.

Why It Works

• Toasting the fig leaves briefly in a dry pan before infusing them concentrates their aroma. Raw leaves give a much fainter, greener flavor.
• A full hour of steeping at room temperature, rather than over heat, lets the flavor build gradually without cooking off the more delicate, coconut like notes.
• Cooking the custard only to 77°C (170°F) keeps the egg yolks from scrambling while still thickening the base enough to coat a spoon. A thermometer takes the guesswork out of this step.
• Stirring in the honey off the heat, once the custard is already cooling in the ice bath, preserves its floral flavor rather than cooking it away.

On the Fig Leaves

Young, tender fig leaves have a more pronounced flavor than older, leathery ones, so pick from new growth if possible. Fig leaves also contain an enzyme that can cause the dairy to curdle slightly during infusion, this is normal and whisking the custard back together, or blending it briefly with an immersion blender, fixes it completely.

Are Fig Leaves Edible?

Yes. Fig leaves are safe to eat and have been used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern kitchens for centuries, wrapped around cheese, grilled fish, or steeped in cream exactly as they are here. They are not eaten raw and whole like a salad leaf, the flavor is far too intense for that, but infusing them in a warm liquid extracts their aroma while leaving the leaf itself behind. Choose leaves that have not been sprayed with pesticide, and rinse them well before toasting.

Serving

Lebovitz serves this alongside fresh figs, and it also works well with poached pears or a spoonful of cherry compote. In Portugal, late summer is exactly fig season, so pairing the ice cream with figs picked at their ripest is an easy match.