English breakfast tea ice cream

STEPS

1. Combine the milk and cream in a medium sized saucepan off the heat. Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape vanilla seeds out – place the scraped vanilla seeds in the milk/cream mixture.

2. Add the cream, milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt to the saucepan. Using a paring knife scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod into the milk mixture, and add the pod as well.

3. Add the loose black tea leave to the saucepan, and warm the mixture on medium heat to a simmer. Once warm, turn off the stove, and cover and steep for at least an hour, or until you are satisfied with the flavor, before straining out the tea leaves and vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

5. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

6. Strain the custard into a bowl with the heavy cream. Stir until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.

7. Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.