Earl Grey Custard Cream Puffs

For the custard: In a saucepan over medium heat, bring milk to a simmer. Turn off heat, add tea bags, and cover with lid to steep. In a large heat-safe bowl, whisk together ¼ cup of the cornstarch, sugar, and egg yolks until pale yellow in color. Lift tea bags from milk; with a pair of tongs, squeeze excess liquid back into saucepan and discard bags. Heat milk over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until temperature reaches 180 F. Remove from heat and slowly drizzle hot milk into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Transfer back to saucepan and bring to a light boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and salt. Transfer back to bowl; smooth out top with a spatula and seal custard’s surface with plastic wrap. Once cooled to room temperature, refrigerate 2 hours. 

For the choux dough: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter into water, then add teaspoon of sugar and pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and add flour; stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a thick paste is formed. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until dough pulls away from the saucepan’s sides. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment and let cool to below 125 F. Beat in one egg at a time until dough goes from shiny/smooth to dull/coarse. Beat for one minute after adding the last egg; dough will be sticky and smooth. 

To bake puffs: Preheat oven to 400 F. Add dough to a pastry bag tipped with a ½-inch round tip. On parchment- or silicone-lined baking sheets, pipe 2 or 3 equal-sized mounds at a time (about 1½ inches in diameter and 1 inch tall) about 2 inches apart. Dip finger in water and gently press peaks to round the tops, repeating 2 or 3 at a time with remaining dough. Bake 20 minutes, then turn oven off, leaving puffs in to continue baking to a medium brown (don’t peek, as they may deflate if oven is opened). Remove from oven and slice each puff in half horizontally to allow steam to escape. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, leaving door open, until puffs don’t yield when lightly tapped. 

To finish: In the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat heavy cream, remaining 2 teaspoons of cornstarch, and powdered sugar until peaks are just stiff enough to hold when turned upright. Remove chilled custard from fridge and loosen with a spatula (it’ll be quite thick). Fold ¼ of the whipped cream into custard to start, then fold in the rest until evenly distributed. Fill a piping bag (tipped with an open star tip) with custard cream. Generously pipe custard into the bottom half of each puff and replace their tops. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.