Earl Grey Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Make the custard.
Heat the milk, cream, half of the sugar (1/3 cup), and salt in a saucepan. When the mixture begins to bubble around the edges, remove from the heat, add the tea leaves, cover, and steep for 30 minutes.

In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar. Uncover the cream mixture and gently rewarm. Slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the warm cream into the yolks, whisking constantly, then return the egg mixture to the saucepan.

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 170°F on an instant-read thermometer. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl, pressing gently on the tea leaves to extract their flavor. Set the bowl in an ice bath to cool, then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.

Make the chocolate chips.
Set a medium stainless steel bowl over a skillet of gently simmering water and melt the chocolate. Remove from the heat and pour onto a piece of parchment paper, spreading into a thin, even layer. Freeze until firm, then chop into chunks or shards and return to the freezer until ready to use.

Freeze the ice cream.
Churn the chilled custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the chopped chocolate during the last minute of churning.