Fig tart with homemade Lavender ice-cream

My latest craze is Lavender ! It's from the mint family and I am finding that anything that goes with mint seems to go with Lavender!  
This is a recipe that I came across one day . (It's one recipe of a great Irish chef Kevin Thornton - Thanks Kevin!) I have made this on a regular basis and it always goes down a bomb. The ice-cream goes really well also with chocolate (serve with a warm chocolate souffle or brownies) and also with apples (An open caramelised apple tart) etc etc . . . . . I buy the 'Sonnentor Organic Lavender flowers Herbal tea' - usually found in health food shops or you can order it online.
A handy hint to know is that Lavender is part of the mint family so anything that goes with mint usually goes with lavender

Lavender ice cream
5 egg yolks
1 vanilla pod (deseeded)
250ml cream
250ml milk
10g dried lavender flower Tea (A closed fistful)
63g icing sugar

Method: Place the lavender flowers and vanilla seeds in a bowl with the milk and cream and leave overnight in the fridge. (I usually warm it through first as I find it infuses better) Line the base of a stainless steel pot with a little water, swirl it about and discard, - this helps to stop the pan 'burning', and then add the strained milk and cream. Bring to the boil and remove from heat.
Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, then add the sugar and whisk well. Pour half the milk and cream into the egg and sugar and whisk. Pour the mixture back into the stainless-steel pot containing the rest of the milk and cream. Heat to just before boiling point, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and place in a basin of cold water to cool it quickly. Spin the cool mixture in an ice cream maker (I bought mine in Argos for €51.00 and it's great). Otherwise, place in a stainless-steel bowl and freeze – removing from the freezer at 2 hour intervals to stir.


Frangipani
50g soft unsalted butter
50g caster sugar
50g ground almonds
1 large egg
Grated zest of 1 orange
Puff Pastry

Method: 
Sieve the flour into a bowl, add the caster sugar, butter, ground almonds, orange zest and mix with a hand blender.  Beat the egg and add it to the mixture and mix again..


To serve
Slice 8 fresh figs and set aside. Cut the pastry in four rectangular shapes or circles and place on a baking tray. Prick with a fork to ensure it doesn’t rise too much. (Score around edges so that they will rise)
Spread the frangipani mixture on top of each pastry and bake at 175 degrees centigrade for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and layer fig slices on top. Turn oven down to 150 degrees and return the tarts to bake for a further five minutes.
Place the tart in the centre of a large plate with a scoop of the Lavender ice cream and finish by sprinkling ground almond and decorate with lavender flowers.

Absolutely Yummy!!! - enjoy