Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream

Yesterday was 93 degrees in Los Angeles, you read that correctly, nine-zero degrees in April after a non-existent winter and with complete disregard for spring. Therefore I threw in the towel and made Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream. Sweet cream and milk steeped with floral Earl Grey Tea, combined with sugar and yolks, chilled and churned.

Served in a waffle cone, there is nothing complicated or overworked about this recipe. It's just really good, rich and chewy ice cream made from scratch and completely satisfying on a hot (spring) day.

But for those of you who are not suffering through this California heat wave, don’t be deterred! Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream is the perfect year round flavor with lovely reminders of a hot cup of tea with lots of cream and sugar. If you are in California, I suggest digging that ice cream machine out immediately. Summer has arrived!

photos by Leah Bergman / floral napkin by Cute Bright Things

Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream- Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones

1 ¾ cups heavy cream
¾ cup 1% or 2% milk
½ cup sugar
3 Tbsp loose-leaf Earl Grey tea
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
5 large egg yolks

Directions:

1. In a heavy nonreactive saucepan, stir together the cream, milk, half of the sugar (¼ cup), the tea, and salt.
2. Put the pan over medium-high heat. When the mixture just begins to bubble around the edges, remove from the heat and cover the pan. Let steep for about 10 minutes, or until the cream has taken on the distinct flavor of Earl Grey tea.
3. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks just to break them up, then whisk in the remaining half of the sugar (¼ cup). Uncover the cream mixture and put the pan over medium heat. 4. Carefully scoop out about ½ up of the hot cream mixture and, whisking the eggs constantly, add the cream to the bowl with the egg yolks. Repeat, adding another ½ cup of the hot cream to the bowl with the yolks. Using a heatproof spatula, stir the cream in the saucepan as you slowlypour the egg-and-cream mixture from the bowl into the pan.
5. Cook the mixture carefully over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thickened, coats the back of a spatula, and holds a clear path when you run your fingers across the spatula, about 3 minutes longer.
6. Strain the base through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container. Set the container into an ice-water bath, wash your spatula, and use it to stir the base occasionally until it is cool. Remove the container from the ice-water bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the base for at least 2 hours or overnight.
7. Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. While the ice cream is churning, put the container you'll use to store the ice cream into the freezer. Enjoy right away or, for a firmer ice cream, transfer to the chilled container and freeze for at least 4 hours.