Tea Ice Cream 1877

In Baltimore, we are lucky have a wonderful gelateria called Pitango Gelato. they have all sorts of awesomeness, organic, delicious gelato- but one of the best flavors that they have is black tea gelato.  I had heard about it weeks before I had been able to try it- and after a couple of failed attempts at going to Fells Point once a week (they were out when I was there), I finally had success! It was amazing. I couldn't stop thinking about it.

 

So when I got the cookbook, the recipe that immediately piqued my interest was the one for Tea Ice Cream.  The headnote says that you can use any kind of tea (Green tea was originally used, but I'm not a fan)  I have a bag of loose leaf Earl Grey from Zeke's  for special occasions (that will now be relegated solely for ice cream use)  and I set about putting the ice cream base together.  It's pretty simple, although time consuming.  I don't know if it's because I don't have a proper double boiler (I was using a Pyrex bowl over a saucepan)  or if it just takes that long, but it took forever for the cream to scald.  You scald half the cream with the tea, strain out the tea, return to the double boiler, and add the rest of the cream, and then scald again.  Once scalded, you add it slowly to beaten egg/sugar combo, and let cool, then chill in the fridge overnight.

 

This is where my poor planning kicks me in my impatient ass. So I got my mixer attachment in the mail, and I knew that I would have to freeze the bowl.  So i though to myself "I'll just freeze this, and make my base tomorrow right when i get home from work, and then churn it before I go to bed!"  What I didn't do, however, was read the recipe instructions, which said that the base had to chill overnight. (cue me kicking myself)  so after I cursed a little,  I put together the base, and threw it into the fridge once it was cool, so I could churn it on Friday. I considered churning it before work on Friday, but I vetoed that idea, because while I do, occasionally, have some willpower,  churning ice cream before work would certainly mean that I would be eating ice cream for breakfast. I am not made of stone, people.

 

So I waited until I got home from work, and put it into the mixer attachment to make my inaugural batch of ice cream. If you are a fan of tea, and have an ice cream maker, I suggest you stop whatever you are doing, and get the ingredients to make this ice cream.  It is heavenly.  You know when you put real cream in your tea, that creamy, sweet, tea that results is wonderful? If you take that cup of tea and magnify the deliciousness by ten, you will begin to come close to the awesomeness that is this ice cream.  Earl Grey is, I think, the best compliment to this ice cream, because besides being one of my favorite teas, The flavor of the tea blends really, really well with the cream.

 

Hands down. I think it may be the best dessert I've ever made.