Description
This Earl Grey Creme Brulee Pie is a silky smooth dessert featuring a rich custard infused with fragrant Earl Grey tea and vanilla, all set in a chocolate gluten-free pie crust. Topped with a crunchy caramelized sugar crust and served with fresh berries, this elegant pie is perfect for brunch, dinner, or tea-time treats.
Ingredients
Scale
Custard
- 1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract)
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream (35%)
- 2 tablespoons Earl Grey tea (optional)
- 5 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
Pie
- 1 pie crust (Mi-del chocolate gluten free pie crust or any preferred pie crust)
Topping
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Fresh berries (for decoration and serving)
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Set your oven to 325°F (165°C) to prepare for baking the pie.
- Prepare vanilla and cream infusion: Slice the vanilla bean pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Place both seeds and pod in a medium saucepan with the heavy cream and Earl Grey tea leaves if using.
- Heat and steep: Warm the cream mixture on medium-low heat until steaming, avoiding boiling. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes to infuse flavors.
- Mix egg yolks and sugar: While the cream steep, whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and sea salt gently until combined without creating foam.
- Strain cream: Remove the tea leaves and vanilla pod from the cream by squeezing or straining to extract maximum flavor.
- Combine cream and yolks: Gradually add the warm cream in small increments to the egg mixture while whisking continuously to temper the yolks and blend evenly.
- Fill pie crust: Place the pie crust on a baking sheet. If using a crumb crust, pour the custard mixture over a spatula into the crust to maintain crust integrity.
- Bake custard: Bake the pie for 35 minutes until the center is mostly set but still slightly jiggly like jelly.
- Cool and chill: Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for about 3 hours until fully chilled.
- Caramelize topping: Evenly spread 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar on top. Broil in the top oven rack until the sugar melts and caramelizes, about 1-2 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning.
- Chill after broiling: Place the pie in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up the topping and cool the pie for easier slicing.
- Serve: Crack the sugar crust gently with the back of a spoon to facilitate slicing, then slice and serve with fresh berries.
Notes
- This pie combines a silky custard and crispy caramelized sugar topping for a perfect texture contrast.
- Use a chocolate gluten-free pie crust for a delightful tea-time twist, but other pie crusts can be substituted.
- If a broiler is unavailable, a kitchen torch can caramelize the sugar though it takes longer and heats the pie less.
- Handle the egg yolk mixture gently to avoid incorporating air, which prevents foam formation for a smooth custard.
- The custard’s center should remain slightly jiggle to ensure perfect creamy texture after chilling.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 403 kcal
- Sugar: 19 g
- Sodium: 145 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 16 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 189 mg
