Strawberry Lavender Sparkling Wine Ice Cream Floats
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Unwritten summer rules
I can’t even tell you how much fun are these Sparkling Wine Strawberry Lavender Ice Cream floats. Think of these as that root beer float you love, but way nicer, prettier and fancier!! The elderflower notes in the St. Germain dance beautifully with the lavender and, well, the strawberries with the champagne are a perfect classic pair that needs no words. These floats are what summer daydreams are all about.
There are so many things that have written summer all over them, like watermelon, flip-flops and the desire of doing absolutely nothing after 3pm. But for me, nothing screams summer louder than strawberry ice cream. Fresh strawberry ice cream is the quintessential ice cream of summer and accordingly should be eaten on a cone while strolling a bike in a park. At least that’s my romantic way of eating it!
That’s why I wanted to make my own strawberry ice cream for these floats, which has no-eggs and you can even get it done without an ice cream machine. I wanted pure strawberry goodness in every sip! You can use store bought ice cream of course, but this one is so freakishly good and so easy to make, is totally worth the extra step!
Lavender seemed the perfect twist for this fruity summery ice cream, and you know by now I love using lavender in the kitchen so much!
To make ice cream floats you can use basically any carbonated or soda beverage. Root beer, cream soda or ginger soda will give you that traditional old-school flavor and any fruity soda will make pretty good refreshing floats. But to make things pop (see what I did there?) I say you grab a bottle of fizzy wine and make your floats with it!
There’s no much details to explain behind the steps of pouring a few bottles over a glass and making a float, you know. But I’m going to walk you through the steps to make the strawberry lavender ice cream:
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Lavender Ice Cream
Start by making the strawberry syrup. It should be cooled down and chilled for making the ice cream. Please use the freshest and highest quality strawberries you can get. They are the most important flavor here.
When ready to make the ice cream, heat the cream and infuse it with the lavender according to the recipe. You need to have this chilled when making the ice cream.
It’s a good idea that all ingredients are chilled, especially if you aren’t going to use a machine or the one you have doesn't have the compressor incorporated.
I used here a bit of cream cheese because it will make the ice cream more richer even if not using eggs. It will still be very velvety if you leave it out.
Mix the half and half with condensed milk and if using cream cheese, mix it at this point a well.
In a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, whisk the infused heavy cream for 2 minutes if you are using an ice cream machine, 5 minutes if you aren’t.
Add in the strawberry syrup.
Transfer to the ice cream machine and churn for about 35 minutes, depending on the settings of your machine.
Add pieces of strawberries during the last minutes of churning.
Transfer to a freezer safe container. Press cling paper directly on top of the ice cream and wrap what hangs around. Wrap 1 to 2 more times the container to make sure air is not entering into the ice cream.
If going with the no-churn alternative, transfer mixture to a freezer safe container. After one hour, mix everything with a churning motion. Add pieces of fresh strawberries and mix again. Cover it with cling plastic paper, pressing it to the top of the ice cream and wrapping with more paper a few more times. If you can, repeat this on the second hour of freezing.
Ice cream will be set the next day, but it’s completely edible after churned.
How to Make Sparkling Wine Floats
To make sparkling wine or champagne floats, it’s important to use very chilled ingredients. Besides the ice cream of course, make sure the sparkling wine and any other liquor, sparkling soda o juice you are adding are very chilled. St. Germain doesn't need to be stored in the fridge, so you can serve what you’ll be using in a glass and chill that.
I like to serve the ice cream first, that way I can serve more accurately the rest of the components in a sparkling wine or champagne float.
Serve it with a spoon and a straw. With the spoon people can eat more of the ice cream first. With a straw they can sip the thick, sweet and creamy wine mixed with the melting ice cream.
What you’ll need:
Technically you need an ice cream maker machine. If you are super organized you can use a basic ice cream maker machine that needs its container previously frozen. If you, like me, are always making eating decisions on the go, and can splurge a bit, I highly recommend my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Machine with the compressor attached. It’s a very nice middle point between the basic machine and the $500 leagues.
A freezer safe container or ice cream tub. I usually use my ceramic loaf cake pan and this one in this link has a very similar style to mine, you have probably seen it in some loaf cake recipe posts.
Culinary grade lavender. Make sure your lavender is culinary grade or edible, and not the one you would use for households crafts.
A sturdy large ice cream scooper, like mine from Zeroll.
3 recipes I think you’ll love if you’re loving this one:
Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Dulce de Leche Brownie Ice Cream
Lavender Flourless Chocolate Cake
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I can totally imagine us sipping these on a hot day while having a great time! I can only say my hubby was very happy after ending one full glass. It’s a sweet drink recipe that will carry you all summer long!
Will love to see your floats! Please share them with me in Instagram (@devamadeo), Facebook (@DevAmadeo), and now on Threads (@devamadeo). ¡SALUD!
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Strawberry Lavender Sparkling Wine Ice Cream Floats
Ingredients
Strawberry syrup
◯ Cold water – 2 TBSP, 1 oz.
◯ Strawberries, halved – 2 cups, 260g
◯ Raw sugar – ¼ cup, 50g
◯ Freshly squeezed lemon juice – 2 TBSP, 1 oz
Strawberry lavender ice cream base
◯ Heavy cream (whipping cream), chilled - 2 ½ cups, 20 oz
◯ Edible or culinary lavender buds - about 2 TBSP, 16g
◯ Cream cheese, softened (optional, see notes) - 8 oz, 226 g
◯ Half and half - ½ cup, 4 oz
◯ Condensed milk - 1 can of 14 oz, 397 g
◯ Fresh strawberries, chopped in 4 or 6 pieces, depending on how big each strawberry is - about 2 cups
Strawberry Lavender Sparkling Wine Ice Cream Floats
(for 2 - 12 ounces glass, divide in half if using a smaller glass)
◯ Ice cream - 4 scoops
◯ St. Germain, chilled - ½ cup, 4 ounces
◯ Sparkling wine, very chilled - ¾ cup, 6 ounces
◯ Lavender stalk and/or strawberries to garnish
Details
Yield:
about 1 quart of ice cream
2 large glasses of the sparkling wine floats
Total time:
ice cream, 1 hour plus freezing
floats, 5 minutes
Active time:
20 minutes
Equipment:
stand mixer or handheld electric mixer, ice cream maker machine (optional), freezer safe container
Steps:
Making the strawberry syrup:
In a small saucepan combine the 2 tablespoon/1 ounce of water with 2 cups/260g of strawberries, the ¼ cup/50g of sugar and the 2 tablespoons/1 ounce of lemon juice and turn the heat on in medium. Let it boil, then cook for 5 extra minutes, until the strawberries release their juice but are not completely broken. Remove from heat. Let it cool and chill for 10 to 15 minutes before adding to the ice cream base. You can make this a few days in advance as well.
Making the strawberry lavender ice cream:
Heat the 2 ½ cups/20 oz of heavy cream over medium low heat for barely 3 to 4 minutes, until gently simmering. Add 1 tablespoon of the lavender buds. Continue heating for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of lavender, mixing well. Wait about 3 minutes before straining to remove the lavender buds. Place in the fridge to chill.
If using cream cheese, beat it with a stand mixer or electric hand mixer in medium speed to make it smoother. If not using continue with next step.
Add the ½ cup/4 ounces of half and half and the 14 ounces can of condensed milk. Mix until well blended.
On your stand mixer or using an electric hand mixer, both with the whisk attachment, mix lavender infused heavy cream until frothy and foamy in slow to medium speed (#2 in the Kitchen Aid stand mixer). Whip for 2 minutes if using your ice cream machine or 5 minutes if doing the no-churn alternative. Add the chilled strawberry syrup and gently mix for 2 to 3 minutes. Mixture will turn a very light pink.
Stop and pour the half and half mixture. Mix in the slowest speed until well incorporated and the color looks homogeneous.
If using the ice cream machine:
Transfer to your ice cream machine with the ice cream paddle already attached. Churn the ice cream about 40 minutes. At the very last minute drop the fresh strawberry pieces. Scrape ice cream to a freezer container. Cover with a cling plastic paper, pressing it to the ice cream as much as possible to prevent ice crystals on top. Wrap it around a few times more. Freeze 6 to 8 hours, preferably overnight, to get the ice cream firm and set.
If doing the no ice cream machine-churn alternative:
Fold in strawberry pieces. Transfer to a freezer container and wrap it a few times with plastic paper, making sure there’s no gap between the ice cream and that first layer of paper. In two hours take it out of the freezer and give it a few churns with a spoon. You can repeat this process in 1 to 2 hours just to make sure it is freezing well but it’s not completely necessary. Freeze for 6 to 8 hours, preferably overnight, until firm and set.
Always wrap tightly before storing back in the freezer.
Making the sparkling wine ice cream floats:
Drop 2 scoops of the strawberry lavender ice cream in each glass. Immediately pour ¼ cup/2 ounces of St. Germain, keeping the stream on the side of the ice cream as much as you can. Follow with a pour of the sparkling to fill the glass, about ¾ cup/6 ounces.
Garnish with smoked lavender stalks and/or a sliced strawberry.
