I was talking ice cream w/ a client on Friday and she mentioned an interesting concoction she had made (she's from Vietnam) and it sounded so enticing I decided to try my own version of it. Well, might I say it came out just delightful! A friend who was over described it as "Gastronomic Genius"! My husband and both dinner guests were blown away by the light, refreshing, exotic flavor and we all just kept raving about it. I had to stop myself at 2 servings as I did not do a "light" version on this (yet!).

Here ya go:

Fig Preserve & Orange Blossom Ice Cream
(this recipe makes 4 Qts)

Mix together in the ice cream maker tub (I use a Rival electric one)
1 1/2 C sugar
a pinch or so of sea salt
4 C Half-n-Half
4 C Heavy Whipping Cream
1 T Pure Vanilla Extract
1 16oz jar of Fresh Fig Preserves (purchased from my local Farmer's Mkt)
~1/4-1/3 C Orange Blossom Water (can be purchased at most Int'l stores) **note - I didn't really measure this accurately bc I started w/ 1T, added another, was about to add a 3rd & just dumped the last of the bottle in!

Stir everything together well, then place the mixing paddle in the ice cream container & place in the bucket w/ ice & Rock Salt, letting the machine work its magic until it stops.... well, it was taking longer than usual so I pulled it out not quite frozen enough and we ate it anyway *really* soft - almost like melting soft serve. It was so good. I place the rest in containers in the freezer & it continued to freeze like a proper ice cream.

We topped it w/ some slivered honey roasted almonds and/or crushed pistachios. It might also be nice w/ honey drizzled on it but it doesn't need the extra sweetness. So Good... So Refreshing.... So unusual & delicious!