Wild Blackberries with Blue Barley Ice Cream

Pastry Chef Laurence Faber is using this beautiful ice cream dessert to highlight the natural flavor of blackberries fresh from our garden. The puffed barley pulls out the barley flavor in the ice cream, adding a note of nuttiness to the layers of flavor. The Garden provides the garnish, too. Cosmos flowers come up in the Garden at the same time as blackberries, and the petals are a beautiful complementary finish to the dish.

Wild Blackberries with Blue Barley Ice Cream and Caramel

Blue Barley Ice Cream

• 3 cups of heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ vanilla bean split and scraped
• pinch of salt
• ½ cup of blue barley

Bring the cream and milk to a simmer then add the blue barley. Let steep for 1 hour. After steeping, strain the barley out of the liquid and rescale the liquid to 4 cups. Bring the liquid back to a simmer, then add the sugar, vanilla and salt. Simmer for 2 minutes and then cool down. Spin according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

Milk Jam Caramel

• 4 cups milk
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 vanilla bean
• ½ tsp baking soda

Bring the milk to a simmer in a large pot, then add the sugar, salt and vanilla bean. Dissolve the baking soda in a small amount of water, and add it to the pot. It will start to bubble, so stir vigorously until it calms. Continue to cook on a medium-low heat until your mixture is reduced by half and dark brown in color, about 30-45 minutes. Once ready, the bubbles will bubble very slowly, like molten lava. Strain to remove any lumps, then cool.