Earl Grey Creme Brulee

I've made this recipe twice, and it's still my favorite creme brulee recipe. It's from the Good Egg, by Marie Simmons. I highly recommend this cookbook, as it has a wide variety of recipes all dedicated to that wonderful food: the egg.

I love almost all recipes that involve using whole vanilla beans, and creme brulee is my custard of choice. Earl Grey is a kind of tea that I've always associated with very proper English tea, and I never would have though to pair it with custard. It sounds weird, yet it really is perfect. As Marie put it, "Its rich herbaceous flavor is the quintessential match for custard."

1/2 cup milk
1 T Earl Grey tea leaves (contents of 2 tea bags)
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/2 c sugar
5 egg yolks
1/4 c superfine sugar (put regular sugar through food processor or blender)

1. Heat milk and tea leaves over low heat until bubbles appear around the edges. Remove from heat, let stand 20 minutes.

2. Heat cream and vanilla until bubbles appear around the edges. Remove from heat, add sugar. Let stand 10 minutes.

3. Strain milk into cream. Scrape seeds from vanilla pod, set aside.

4. Whisk egg yolks. Whisk in the cream mixture, then strain into large measuring glass. Stir in the vanilla.

5. Pour into six 5-oz. ramekins. Bake in hot water bath at 325 degrees F., 30-35 minutes, until centers are set. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until very cold.

6. When ready to serve, blot moisture from tops. Sprinkle thick layer of superfine sugar to cover; broil until sugar is melted and caramelized.