I made Earl Grey ice cream sandwiches today with homemade Earl Grey tea ice cream. One member in my family is allergic to eggs, so this recipe suits her perfectly, as no eggs are involved in this dessert. I used chocolate chip Walkers shortbread cookies, which are eggless as well. At the same time, I thought I’d experiment a bit in advance of my little munchkin’s big birthday party at the end of the month. She’s been such a good girl, helping me out all week long since she’s on vacation. I thought this would be the perfect treat to reward her because the sandwiches are perfect for little hands and fingers!
I absolutely adore the flavor combination; the bergamot in Earl Grey tea has a truly distinctive flavor which, -interestingly- tastes almost like Fruit Loops cereal when mixed in ice cream batter. For convenience, and because they taste great, I made ice cream sandwiches using packs of Walkers chocolate chip cookies. If you have time, you could also make homemade chocolate chip cookies for the sandwiches.
1. Info for Earl Grey Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 8
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Earl Grey Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe
- 1 quart half and half
- 1-¼ cups superfine sugar (or granulated sugar)
- 4 Earl Grey teabags
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon liquid lecithin
- 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1-½ teaspoons orange oil (or any citrus oil or olive oil)
- 8 (2 per packet) snack packs chocolate chip cookies.
3. Directions:
- In a saucepan, combine the half and half and sugar. Bring to a near boil. Turn off the heat and immediately add the tea bags. Let the tea steep for about 2 minutes, depending on how strong you want the tea flavor (no more than 4 minutes or the tea will release its acidity). Using a spatula, squeeze as much tea as possible from the tea bags. Add salt.
- In a small bowl, combine the xanthan gum and orange oil. Once the mixture turns into a thick paste, add the liquid lecithin. Add the xanthan gum / lecithin mixture to the Earl Grey mixture. The liquid will thicken a bit. Whisk well. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. To check if the mixture is ready to be churned, the temperature of the liquid shouldn’t exceed 45°F.
- Make sure the ice cream mixture is as cold as possible before you transfer it to the machine.
- Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker canister and follow the instructions for your ice cream maker. Fill two-thirds of it as the ice cream will expand, and let the machine do its magic. The texture will be on the soft side.
- Once the ice cream is ready (soft-serve), transfer the ice cream into an airtight container in the freezer to harden for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
- A few hours later… To make the ice cream sandwiches, place a tight-ball scoop of ice cream on top of a cookie and cover with a second cookie on top. Gently press the two cookies together for an even layer of ice cream. Wrap in wax paper and immediately place back in the freezer until you’re ready to serve.
- As soon as the ice cream sandwiches are out, serve immediately. Can you see how fast the ice cream was melting as I was taking the pictures?
- Bon appétit!
