An Earl Grey tea flavored custard pie with a layer of chocolate ganache, topped with tea infused whipped cream and crushed pistachios

Okay, so we aren't going to take full-credit for this recipe, but we want to. We first tasted this thing of beauty at The Pie Hole in Los Angeles and we have been talking about it ever since. Primarily, because this recipe calls for one of our favorite teas: Earl Grey! While the original recipe uses a white chocolate mouse infused with Earl Grey tea, we modified it some and made a tea custard pie with tea whipped cream. Sounds overload, but it ain't!

Yield 1 large pie with left over pie dough

STEP 1

1-2 days before pie assembly, add 1/3 cup loose leaf earl grey to 16 ounces of cold heavy whipping cream. Stir until all tea leaves are saturated. Cover with a tight lid. Chill this overnight for a cold infusion. A cold infusion will prevent the tea from releasing tannins.

STEP 2

1-2 days ahead, make your crust. Combine flour and salt into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse for 10 seconds. The mixture should be like crumbs with some large pieces. Start the processor and add ice water slowly, until the dough combines. This should not take more than 30 seconds. Test the dough by squeezing it. If it is too crumbly add water a tablespoon at a time. Lay out two sheets of plastic wrap. Cut the dough in half. Place each half in the center of each piece of plastic wrap and then flatten the dough into discs. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes. You can also do this process by hand instead of with a food processor.

STEP 3

After dough has chilled, roll out the dough to fit your pie plate. Trim the edges of the pie plate leaving a bit of an overhang. Crimp edges and prick the bottom of the dough with a fork to prevent puffing. Put pie plate back in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to chill. Remove from refrigerator and cook at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

STEP 4

For the custard, 8 cups of milk in a large sauce pan. Bring milk to a simmer and then add the loose leaf Earl Grey Tea. Cover, turn off heat, and let the milk tea steep for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine eggs, sugar, salt and cornstarch and mix well. Don't worry, it takes some elbow grease. It should be light yellow in color after it is fully mixed. After the milk has steeped (it should be a light tan color) strain it to remove all the tea leaves. Reheat the milk tea to a soft boil, add 2 tbsp butter, and stir frequently so no film forms. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of the milk tea into the egg mixture very slowly. Then slowly whisk the egg mixture back into your sauce pan of milk tea. Continue to cook stirring constantly until the mixture thickens (about 5 minutes). Stir in vanilla and 2 tbsp butter and remove from heat. This is now the custard. Chill for 3 hours.

STEP 5

Make your ganache layer by bringing 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream to a simmer. Put chocolate into medium-sized glass bowl. Slowly pour simmering cream over chocolate. Let sit for 30 seconds - 1 minute until chocolate begins to melt. Slowly stir cream into chopped chocolate until cream is incorporated. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. This makes more than enough chocolate so feel free to eat the rest with spoon!

STEP 6

After ganache has cooled for 5 minutes, spoon and smooth into the base of the pie to create a thin chocolate layer and barrier to prevent crust sogginess. Pour the cooled custard into the pie, and smooth the top.

STEP 7

Take your tea infused cream, strain out tea leaves and pour cream into a chilled mixing bowl. With whisk attachment on your mixture, whip the cream until it starts to thicken. Gradually add the sugar while whisking the cream. Dollop whipped cream on top of the pie, smooth and top with crushed pistachios. Chill and serve!