Tea is wonderful to use in the kitchen. It has the unique ability to subtly elevate recipes to a new level. Recently, I made this Earl Grey crème brûlée. The black tea with a hint of bergamot blends perfectly with the milk, cream, and eggs.

The recipe serves four, but feel free to double it as needed!

Ingredients:

• 25 cl cream
• 25 cl milk
• 15 grams of Earl Grey tea
• 1 vanilla pod (or vanilla powder)
• 12 eggs
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Recipe:

1. Put the milk and cream in a saucepan.
2. Place the Earl Grey tea in a disposable bag and lightly crush it.
3. Heat on low heat and allow it to warm up. Make sure it doesn’t boil or rise.
4. Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and pods to the saucepan. Let it steep over very low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, remove from heat.
5. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. For this recipe, we only use the yolks.
6. Add 100 grams of granulated sugar to the yolks. Whisk it in carefully, making sure it doesn’t foam or become pale.
7. Remove the tea and vanilla pods from the warm mixture.
8. Slowly pour the warm (but not hot) mixture into the yolks, stirring continuously.
9. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes until most of the foam has disappeared.
10. Divide the mixture into small oven dishes and bake for 1 hour in a preheated oven at 90°C.
11. Let them cool completely.
12. Before serving, sprinkle some granulated sugar over the custard and caramelize it using a kitchen torch. Work on one dish at a time, caramelizing the sugar immediately after sprinkling it.

Enjoy your Earl Grey crème brûlée!