Earl Grey Creme Brulee Pie

Slice vanilla bean pod in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the knife. Place the seeds and the bean pod into a medium saucepan. Add the cream and earl grey tea leaves (optional).

Heat the cream on medium low heat until steaming hot, don’t let it boil! Once steaming hot, take the saucepan off the heat and let the vanilla and tea steep for 10 minutes.

While the cream steeps, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt until just combined - don’t mix until foamy. Set aside.

Remove the tea leaves and vanilla pod from the cream. Squeeze the teabag well to release all of that flavor. If you’re using looseleaf tea, strain the leaves out.

Slowly, half a cup at a time, add the steeped cream into the yolk mixture, whisking well. Gradually add the rest of the cream and whisk well throughout.

Place the pie crust on a larger baking pan. Pour the cream and egg mixture into the pie crust. If using a crumb crust (like I did), pour the cream on top of a spatula into the crust to prevent the bottom of the crust from being disturbed.

Bake the pie for 30-35 minutes just until the center is set and not liquidy. The center will still be slightly jiggly, like jello. Remove the pie from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate the pie to chill completely, about 3 hours.

Before serving, cover the top of the pie liberally with 3 tablespoons of sugar. Place it on a baking sheet right under the broiler in the top portion of the oven. Broil the top of the pie until all of the sugar melts and caramelizes. Keep a close eye on it because it will burn quickly! This will take about 1-2 minutes. After broiling, pop the pie into the freezer for 15 minutes to chill because broiling can make the middle of the pie too warm to slice.

If you don’t have a broiler, you can use a kitchen torch - it will just take longer. But I found that using a torch doesn’t heat the pie up as much.

Crack the top of the pie with the back of the spoon to make it easier to slice. Slice and serve with fresh berries.