Earl Grey Custard

Earl Grey custard, also called London Fog frozen custard, is a refreshing treat that the whole family will enjoy. An ice cream-inspired dessert, Earl Grey, also known as black tea with bergamot oil, will cut through the summer heat as well as any other frozen treat.

Earl Grey frozen custard is a decadent treat.
Earl Grey frozen custard is a decadent treat.

Earl Grey frozen custard is a decadent treat for the summer heat.

The recipe below will make one pint of Earl Grey frozen custard.

What is Frozen Custard?

Similar to ice cream, frozen custard is made from milk, cream and egg yolks while ice cream is just made from milk and cream. Frozen custard has a denser consistency when compared to ice cream because of the egg yolks that are added to it.

When making frozen custard, you need to make the custard base first. This involved tempering the eggs into your hot milk and watching your milk so that your eggs don’t scramble.

What Tea Should I Pick?

Use six tea bags for a richer earl grey flavor.
Use six tea bags for a richer earl grey flavor.

The higher quality Earl Grey tea bags you use, the deeper and richer flavor ice cream you will get. You can also choose to use a different kind of tea, such as green tea if you prefer.

There are many choices when it comes to Earl Grey tea bags when you go to the supermarket, or you can order off Amazon. If you don’t have time to

Best Earl Grey Tea Bags:

There are lots of options for Earl Grey tea bags, it just depends on how much you want to spend. Generally, the more expensive your teabags cost, the better quality they will be. I’ve made a list of the best tea bags that will give you the best bang for your buck.

For an even deeper Earl Grey flavor, you can add a couple of drops of bergamot oil before chilling your custard. Bergamot oil is cold-pressed from oranges and is what gives Earl Grey its distinct flavor. If you don’t have bergamot oil on hand but want that richer flavor, you can just add an additional tea bag to your custard.

How to Make Frozen Custard

First, make your custard base. Add the milk, the milk, cream, salt and vanilla together. Heat in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Begin temperating your eggs with your hot milk mixture. Once the eggs and milk are combined, add in your tea bags while you continue to stir your hot custard.

Use an instant read thermometer and take off heat when the saucepan contents reach 180°F or when the custard easily coats the back of a spoon. This process should take about 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove the custard and place into an ice bath to keep the mixture from cooking.

Lastly, make your liquid custard into a frozen dessert by placing it in an ice cream maker.

How to Temper Eggs

Tempering your egg yolks is the most important step of this entire recipe. Just remember, continuing to stir the hot eggy mixture will be the most crucial step – if you stop stirring, your eggs will curdle.

There are two ways to temper eggs:

The first way to add the eggs slowly into the bowl while the milk is still over heat, while continuing to whisk.

The second way is to take the milk off the heat and pour it into the eggs. After a quick whisk together, pour the entire contents into the saucepan and continue stirring over heat until the desired temperature is reached.

What is a London Fog?

This frozen custard also goes by the name “London Fog Custard”. So, what is a “London Fog”?

Traditionally, a London Fog is a hot tea drink. You can make it by starting with hot earl grey tea and then adding milk or cream and vanilla syrup.

This custard is the ice cream-version of a specialty tea drink.

What to Pair with Earl Grey Custard

After your frozen custard is out of the ice cream maker and ready to enjoy, you can add a couple of different toppings to it.

My favorite way to top off frozen custard is to add a traditional lemon curd on top!

Other Recipes:

Earl Grey Custard

5 from 2 votes
Recipe by Sarah Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

0

minutes
Calories

275

kcal

Earl Grey frozen custard is a decadent treat for the summer heat.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups 2 whole milk

  • 2 cups 2 heavy whipping cream

  • 8 8 egg yolks

  • 1 cup 1 sugar

  • 1 tsp 1 vanilla extract

  • 6 6 earl grey tea bags

  • pinch salt

Directions

  • Make the custard base. Combine the milk, cream, salt and vanilla. Heat in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer.
  • Whisk egg yolks. Put your egg yolks and sugar into a bowl and whisk vigorously until the mixture is pale and ribbons form when you pull up the whisk. This is called “blanching”.
  • Temper. While whisking consistently, bring several ladles of the hot milk mixture into your egg mixture and fold them together. This will keep your eggs from cooking when adding your eggs directly into the milk mixture. Add the egg and milk mixture into the egg mixture and bring to a boil.
  • Add your tea. Add your tea bags directly to the milk mixture and continue stirring your milk and egg mixture in a figure 8 motion and bring to a boil. Use an instant-read thermometer and bring the mixture to 180 degrees. Remove from heat when the custard coats the back of a wooden spoon and it has reached the desired temperature.
  • Cool. Allow the mixture to cool and remove the tea bags. Once cool, add the mixture to an ice cream maker. Follow ice cream maker directions.

Notes

  • The frozen custard is best after it freezes for a couple of days.

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