Recipes

Earl Grey Icebox Pie

Written by: Scott Clark | Published on: August 7, 2025

Time: 45 Minutes Active: 3 Hours 45 Minutes Total |

I gave up coffee and cigarettes when I gave up cooking in Michelin-starred restaurants. Earl Grey is my go-to cup now, but it’s polarizing. People think they don’t like the bergamot flavor, but really, what they don’t like is oversteeped tea. In the States, we put a bag in water, forget about it until it’s cold, then chug it when it’s dark and bitter. But there’s a right way to brew tea. The steeping time for this filling is dead-on for making a good cup of tea, then the tea leaves stay in the custard, flecking the pie. The recipe came from my personal challenge to get people on board with Earl Grey. It’s the most requested dish at Dad’s. Every week, people ask me, “When are you going to do that tea pie again?”

Ingredients

FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1⁄3 cup sugar

1⁄3 cup unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE EARL GREY FILLING:
2⁄3 cup sugar

1⁄4 cup cornstarch

3 large eggs

Pinch of kosher salt

12⁄3 cups whole milk

1⁄2 cup heavy cream

1⁄3 cup loose Earl Grey tea leaves

3 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Yogurt, preferably homemade, for garnish

Orange and lime zest, for garnish

Directions

FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
1. In a medium bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the melted butter and mix until the texture is like sand. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie pan. Chill the crust for at least 15 minutes.

FOR THE EARL GREY FILLING
1. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch. In a second medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and salt. Whisk the eggs into the sugar mixture.

2. In a medium Dutch oven over medium-high heat, bring the milk, heavy cream, and tea to a boil. Kill the heat and let it steep for 2 minutes. Whisk one-third of the hot milk mixture into the sugar-egg mixture to temper it, then pour the sugar-egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk mixture. Bring it to a simmer and continue simmering, whisking constantly, until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Pour the custard into a blender, add the white chocolate, and blend it on high until it’s smooth, about 1 minute. Pour the filling into the chilled pie crust, then freeze the pie until it’s set, about 3 hours. Let the pie rest at room temp for 5 minutes before slicing and serving it topped with yogurt and orange and lime zest. Leftover pie keeps, in the fridge covered, for up to 3 days.