earl grey ice cream recipe

i’m in love with anything earl grey tea flavored (see this iced earl grey matcha latte that i fantasized about for almost 2 years after first trying it, or me pairing it with berries and cream), so an ice cream flavored with earl grey tea? yes, PLEASE. this version has a touch of orange-y grand marnier, which 1) tastes good and 2) helps keep the ice cream nice and smooooooth. it’s the perfect scoopable texture straight from the freezer, without melting on the spot.

tea bags vs loose leaf tea

you can use either! in this period of staying at home all day everyday, i only have tea bags, so that’s what i used here. as long as it’s a tea that you like to drink, you’re solid (definitely not a “let’s dump in the bad tea!” situation). i like my ice cream to be pretty strong, so i like using twinings or stash double bergamot earl grey tea.

for convenience’s sake, tea bags are a little easier to strain out than loose tea leaves. you only have to squeeze out a couple of sachets, rather than a heap of individual leaves, but not a huge deal since you’re already straining out any scrambled egg bits.

no churn vs churned ice cream

when i’m making tea flavored ice cream, i prefer using the traditional method of cooking a custard and churning that in an ice cream maker. it’s a lot more consistent and forgiving in my experience compared to making a no churn ice cream, which combines whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk, no need for churning.

part of my preference for churned vs no churn earl grey ice cream is because i like doing a hot infusion (heating the milk and tea together) rather than a cold brew method since it’s a lot faster. but heat is the enemy when you’re whipping cream (it becomes less fluffy and more grainy), so unless you’re super careful, your no churn ice cream doesn’t turn out well. i had a batch of no churn ice cream made with semi-cold cream separate, with the whipped cream rising to the top and freezing into a chalky, hard mass with fluid boozy sweetened condensed milk below. bleh.

another reason? i find that churned ice cream isn’t as fast to melt as no churn. this is important if you want ice cream, not ice cream soup (not gonna lie though, i am that girl who will still slurp up melty ice cream). also important if you’re trying to take a picture of your precious ice cream and want a scoop that hasn’t started to soften into a puddle before you’ve even whipped out your camera.

ice cream toppings

honestly, you don’t need toppings for this ice cream. it’s essentially frozen earl grey milk tea, what else could you want?! in case you decide your ice cream needs a little tlc though, here’s a few ideas:

• i used vanilla cream filled pirouette cookies in these pictures; they’re super light and crispy. any crispy lemon or citrus cookie is also a good move, since it goes well with the orange-y flavor from the earl grey.
• more of a mix-in than a topping, stracciatella could be fun! you melt chocolate with some coconut oil, and drizzle it into the custard as it’s churning in the ice cream maker.
• i love fruity flavors with tea (ahem, strawberry jasmine tea, or how about this jasmine and green tea cake with raspberry jam), so a sweet-tart raspberry or strawberry sauce sounds like it’d be tasty on top.
• drizzle with more grand marnier! you don’t want to overload the ice cream with alcohol before you freeze it, since alc doesn’t freeze, but you can add more after the fact if you’re looking for more grand marnier flavor.