Earl Grey Ice Cream

I've never been a huge tea drinker.
My family can't relate with me on this one.
I never really got into drinking hot tea.

However, I really enjoy bubble tea. And tea flavoured things. Specifically ice cream. Black tea ice cream and matcha ice cream are some of my favorite flavours. Ever.

Recently, in travel I've come across quite a few places that sell tea flavoured ice creams. There was a place I visited in NYC called Bar Pa Tea that combined bubble tea and ice cream, and man, was that good.

It gave me some inspiration, I figured that the flavours wouldn't be too difficult to recreate. So, I gave it a go-- minus the inclusion of tapioca pearls.
And what do you know?!
Out came some super flavourful and creamy ice cream.

Earl Grey Ice Cream

Makes one pint

2 cups           heavy cream
1 cup             milk
2/3 cup          sugar
6 tbsp            earl grey tea leaves
1 tsp              vanilla
pinch             salt
6 egg yolks

Make sure to prepare/freeze your ice cream maker drum about a day prior to making your custard!

In a medium saucepan on low heat, add the cream, milk, sugar and tea leaves. Bring to a simmer, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile in a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt.
Once sugar has fully dissolved in cream mixture, gradually pour over egg mixture while whisking constantly (to temper it).
Once tempered, pour mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. When it's ready, it should coat the back of a spoon, and when a finger is run through it, the custard should not go back on itself.
Pour through a strainer into a medium sized bowl, to get rid of any cooked pieces of egg and large tea leaves. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours.
Once fully chilled, run custard into a properly prepared ice cream maker, and let it run for about 20-25 minutes, or until super thick.
Transfer to a large glasslock and store in the freezer. After about a day, make sure to take out of the freezer 10 minutes prior to eating.
Enjoy!

Yeah, I know that it's a bit chilly right now for this dessert. Not everyone is an "ice cream at any time of year person" either.
But, did I mention that this just so happens to pair perfectly with pumpkin pie?

Cheers,

Elanne