(Makes one litre)

150 ml granulated sugar
150 ml water
100 g heavily scented rose petals
375 ml full cream milk
250 ml cream
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten in a bowl

One Fourth of July we were staying with friends on the Maine seashore, not a place I would have associated with roses, but the whole coastline was covered in wild Rosa rugosa. My contribution to our lobster lunch was a bowl of fresh rose petal ice cream. However, I do recommend you make this well in advance in order to give the infused cream time to cool, and then sufficient time for it to freeze.

Cook the sugar and water until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer the petals in the syrup for five minutes, and leave to infuse until cool, removing the pan from theheat. You can happily leavethis overnight.

Scald the milk in a separate saucepan, remove from the heat and stir in the syrup. Leave again to infuse until cool and only then strain. Scald the cream and pour on the egg yolks, whisking all the time. Return the saucepan to a very gentle heat, and stir the custard continuously until it thickens slightly. Combine the custard with the syrup and cream mixture and when cool, freeze in the usual way.