Bee Balm Custard with Buckwheat Honeycomb

Pastry Chef Laurence Faber turns fun foraging into a sweet, Summer treat. Enjoy the sweet combination of homemade frozen yogurt, custard and crunchy honeycomb!

Bee Balm Custard with Frozen Yogurt and Buckwheat Honeycomb

Bee Balm Custard
12 oz half & half
1 cup picked bee balm
6 egg yolks
3 oz sugar
Pinch of salt
1 T corn starch

Go for a hike in the Great Smoky Mountains and identify Bee Balm growing along the paths. Gather some leaves off of each plant, not picking more than⅔of the plant. Combine the salt, sugar, corn starch and egg yolks with a whisk. Bring the half and half to a simmer. Add the bee balm, then remove from the heat. Let it steep for 10 minutes, then strain the bee balm out of the half and half. Bring the infused half and half back to a simmer and, once hot,ladle (one ladle at a time) the half and half into the egg yolks while stirring constantly. Once the yolks have been tempered and you have ladled half of the liquid into the yolks, pour the yolk mixture back into the half and half. Bring this to a bubbling simmer, then remove from the heat and cool in a separate container.

Frozen Yogurt
1 quart full fat yogurt
1 cup sugar
¼ t salt

Whisk yogurt, sugar and salt together until the sugar has melted. Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Buckwheat Honeycomb
1 cup sugar
¼ cup toasted buckwheat groats
¼ cup corn syrup
2 T honey
½ cup water
2 t baking soda

Toast the buckwheat groats in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for eight minutes. Spray a stainless-steel bowl with cooking spray to coat. In a pot,combine all ingredients, except the baking soda and buckwheat groats, and bring to a boil. When the mixture reaches 330 degrees Fahrenheit, take off the heat and add the baking soda and buckwheat groats. The mixture will bubble up, so be careful! Pour it into the bowl and place in the refrigerator until cool. Break into small pieces.