Sunflower Butter Honey Ice Cream

This masterpiece you're currently staring at represents the work of three people, a large fridge, many well-licked spoons (for tasting), and a couch (for napping while the ice cream churned). It began as somewhat of a mere whim, an offhand comment that, wouldn't ice cream make a nice dessert for the evening's family dinner? Someone else—the ice cream maker's owner—chimed in that a recent batch of peanut butter had come out extremely well. Another voiced the brilliant idea to try sunflower butter as a substitute. And, I think, once the phrase sunflower butter ice cream entered the picture, we all knew what lay ahead, and were very excited about it.

Ice cream is a day's work, but seeing a panful of cream, milk, and nut butter transform into a muddy mass of frozen sweetness is worth the effort two times over. That's particularly the case for the sunflower butter and honey, with its sweet-salty combo and inviting, coffee-colored hue. 

I've made ice cream just once before, a goat cheese that added creaminess without imparting too much of the farm flavor that the earthy cheese evokes. But the two barely compare. The goat cheese tasted smooth and clear. This sunflower butter adds an incredible complexity, almost reminiscent of sea salt caramel in the way it laces saltiness through each cold, creamy spoonful. A sprinkle of seeds on top identifies the flavor and adds a delightful crunch.

Sunflower Butter Honey Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
2 egg yolks
3 cups milk
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sunflower butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1 TBSP vanilla extract
sunflower seeds for garnish

Directions
--In a measuring cup, whisk together honey, egg yolks, and 1 cup milk. Scald the remaining 2 cups of milk. Remove from heat and pour a small amount of the heated milk into the egg mixture, stirring continuously until well combined. Add the egg mixture into the pot with the hot milk, add the flour and stir over low heat until thickened, about 8 minutes.
--Remove from heat and pour through a strainer into a bowl. Add cream, sunflower butter, salt, and vanilla, and stir until thoroughly mixed. Chill and churn according to your ice cream maker's directions.
--Before serving, sprinkle with sunflower seeds.