Prep time: 25 minutes + 8 hours chilling | Cook time: 10 minutes + 35 minutes churning | Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS

Ice Cream:
3 medium ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped (about 2 cups chopped)
½ cup granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey, divided
5 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
Pinch sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cardamom, optional
½ vanilla bean pod, split and scraped

Honeycomb:
Coconut oil cooking spray, for greasing
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon baking soda
Flaky sea salt, to garnish

Special equipment: digital thermometer, electric ice cream maker, 9x13-inch metal baking dish, loaf pan

INSTRUCTIONS

A full 24 hours in advance place the bowl of the ice cream maker into the freezer to get very cold.

Place the chopped peaches into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Strain the peaches through a fine mesh sieve and reserve the syrup to the side. Place chopped peaches into a small bowl and refrigerate covered to use later.

Whisk yolks in medium bowl with ¼ cup sugar until light yellow in color, thickened and foamy, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the remaining ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup honey, salt, milk and cream and heat over medium-low heat until hot but no bubbles appear, 4 to 5 minutes.

Mount the bowl of whipped egg yolks on a damp kitchen towel so it doesn't move, and gently temper the egg yolks with the hot milk mixture by adding ½ cup of milk at a time while whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Continue adding milk until all is incorporated. Return the mixture to the saucepan over medium-low heat and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon and when you run your finger down the center, the line holds its shape (nappe).

Remove from the heat and continue whisking. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Add the vanilla extract, vanilla beans, remaining tablespoon honey, reserved peach syrup, plus cardamom if desired. Once the milk mixture is warm, cover and place into the fridge for 4 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally, until very cold.

For the Honeycomb:

Grease a 9x13-inch metal baking dish with coconut oil cooking spray. Line with two pieces of parchment paper in a crisscross pattern to make handles. Set aside. Have all ingredients pre-measured and baking soda ready.

Add the sugar, honey, corn syrup, and water to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir to combine and heat over medium-high heat, swirling the pan throughout cooking until a thermometer registers 300ºF, about 6 to 10 minutes. During this process the honey mixture will bubble and turn a deeper amber caramel color.

Once 300ºF has been reached, remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle over the baking soda. Carefully whisk to combine — the mixture will bubble up quite a bit so be careful! Whisk for 5 seconds until the mixture looks creamy and very bubbly, then gently remove to the prepared baking pan. DO NOT SPREAD — just gently shake the pan to even out the mixture using oven mitts. Allow to cool for 1 to 2 hours before breaking into smaller pieces.

Churning and Freezing:

Once the ice cream mixture has chilled nicely (crème anglaise), remove the frozen ice cream bowl from the freezer, add the ice cream and churn according to manufacturer's instructions, about 30 to 35 minutes, until the consistency of a thicker soft serve ice cream. Pre-chill the loaf pan in the freezer. During the last 5 minutes of churning, add the chilled chopped peaches and continue to churn for another 5 minutes to incorporate. Remove the ice cream to the chilled loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap and freeze another 3 to 4 hours.

If the ice cream becomes too hard, temper at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with crushed honeycomb pieces on top.