Earl Grey Creme Brûlée
I don’t know about you, but I am a big fan of Earl Grey tea! The bergamot in it has a flavor unlike anything else. We know that Earl Grey is great in desserts (you may remember these Earl Grey Truffles). Since we are celebrating tea this month, I wanted to find another way to get Earl Grey into desserts and a creamy creme brûlée is what came to mind. It’s smooth and delicious with a hint of that Earl Grey flavor!
Let’s get to it!
Preheat your oven.
Now heat your heavy cream over medium-high heat until it starts to boil.
Take it off the heat and add the tea bags.
The first time I made this, I tried it on our game night friends and we all agreed that it needed a hint more tea flavor so I went with five tea bags in this recipe instead of four. If you want a really subtle flavor, stick with four. Steep for five minutes with the lid on. While the tea is steeping, get some water boiling. Now take the tea bags out and give them a gentle squeeze to get out all that Earl Grey goodness.
Keep the lid on for another 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and half a cup of sugar until it’s pale yellow.
Now slowly whisk in the hot cream.
It’s time to fill your ramekins! If you don’t have any, you can find these dishes in a lot of places and they are also handy for prep bowls and stuff. Put 6 or 7 ramekins into a large roasting pan or other oven-safe dish with sides to hold in liquid. Pour the custard into the ramekins through a strainer. Sometimes a few of the eggs cook so you want to get out those lumps.
Once the water is boiled, put the pan in the middle rack of the oven and while it’s in the oven pour in the boiling water until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. I do it this way so I don’t accidentally get water in the custards by carrying the pan to the oven.
Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the custard is mostly set with a slight jiggle in the center.
Cool in the fridge. They’ll still be hot, so make sure you put something under them. Chill at least two hours. About half an hour before serving, take the cooled custards out and pour one tablespoon sugar on the top of each one. Make sure to smooth the sugar so it’s in an even layer.
Now it’s time to brûlée! You can do this with a kitchen torch, which you know it my preferred method. :). If you don’t have one of those, put the custards under the broiler for a few minutes or until the sugar is browned and melted. Once the sugar is cooled, it will harden.
Put the custards back in the fridge to chill down for about twenty minutes. If you leave them in the fridge too long the sugar will melt again, so just be careful.
I love that creme brûlée is also interactive because everyone gets their own dish and gets to crunch that sugary top with their spoon, to fun!
The custard is sweet and creamy and that Earl Grey flavor lingers after each bite.
Enjoy!
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Ingredients
- 1 quart heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar, divided
- 5 Earl Grey tea bags
- 6 large egg yolks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Heat heavy cream over medium-high heat until boiling.
- Remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep 5 minutes with lid on. While tea is steeping, get some water boiling. Remove tea bags and give them a gentle squeeze. Keep the lid on for another 10 minutes.
- Whisk egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until pale yellow. Whisk in hot cream slowly.
- Put 6 or 7 ramekins into a large roasting pan and pour custard into ramekins through a strainer.
- Put pan on middle rack of oven and pour in the boiling water until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Bake about 45 minutes, or until the custard is mostly set with a slight jiggle in the center. Cool in the fridge at least two hours.
- About half an hour before serving, take custards out and pour 1 tablespoon sugar on the top of each one in an even layer.
- Brûlée using a kitchen torch or under the broiler.
- Chill in fridge for 20 minutes.
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