Recipe: Milk Tea Ice Cream

With the explosion of bubble tea happening around the world (so much so that there is a tapioca pearl shortage as I write!) 'milk teas' have become familiar and popular menu options.

While Taiwan is the birthplace of bubble tea, one of it's common ingredients - milk tea - originated in Hong Kong, during the era of British colonial rule. 

Traditionally, Ceylon or Assam teas are used to make milk tea, and are boiled in hot water for several minutes to concentrate the tea flavour.

The leaves are then strained out using a cloth strainer, and the addition of condensed milk (the higher the fat content, the better) mellows out the tannins and creates a creamy, velvety beverage FAR greater than the sum of it's simple parts - hot or cold.

Here is my recipe for a decadent, delicious, and simple Lavender Earl Grey Cream ice cream. It was a huge with our team at the office (OK they are a tad biased... but still...) and I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Lavender Earl Grey Cream tea

2 cups 35% cream

1 cup whole milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt

4 egg yolks

Method:

Heat cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a pot to a bare simmer. Add two tablespoons of the tea, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Whisk egg yolks in a metal bowl, and slowly add the infused cream mixture while continually whisking to prevent cooking the yolks and creating lumps. (I did this one half cup at a time).

Place the bowl on a pot of simmering water to create a double boiler, and whisk constantly until the custard coats the back of a spoon. (More flavour will be extracted from the tea leaves in this step as well.) 

Strain the custard and chill for an hour. Churn in an ice cream maker, freeze, and enjoy!