2 cups whole milk
2 cups half-and-half cream
6 Earl Grey tea bags
1 vanilla bean
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1. In a small saucepan, heat whole milk and cream to 175°. Remove from the heat; add tea bags. Split vanilla bean lengthwise. Using the tip of a sharp knife, scrape seeds from the center into pan; add bean. Cover and steep 1 hour. Discard tea bags.
2. Reheat cream mixture just to a boil; stir in sweetened condensed milk and salt until dissolved. Whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into eggs. Return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture is just thick enough to coat a metal spoon and a thermometer reads at least 160°, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat immediately.
3. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl; place bowl in a pan of ice water. Stir gently and occasionally until cool, about 5 minutes. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
4. Fill cylinder of ice cream maker no more than two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. (Refrigerate any remaining mixture until ready to freeze.)
5. Transfer ice cream to freezer containers, allowing headspace for expansion. Freeze until firm, 2 to 4 hours.
Prize Winning Recipe
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 1-1/4 hours + chilling Process: 20 min./batch + freezing
YIELD: 5 cups.
Nutrition Facts
1/2 cup: 250 calories, 12g fat (7g saturated fat), 117mg cholesterol, 183mg sodium, 26g carbohydrate (26g sugars, 0 fiber), 9g protein.