Simple Earl Grey Glaze

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If you’re making an Earl Grey-flavored dessert and need a finish that complements its flavor, this Earl Grey glaze is exactly what you’re looking for. Drizzle or brush it over your madeleines, financiers, eclairs, or scones—or use it to finish cakes and cookies.

The glaze packs a strong Earl Grey flavor, making it perfect for desserts with a subtle Earl Grey base, like my Earl Grey pastry cream.

Recipe Info

This recipe:

• Is simple. This Earl Grey glaze is an easy twist on the classic powdered sugar glaze, the simplest glaze out there. The only extra step? Steeping Earl Grey tea leaves in hot milk before mixing it with powdered sugar.
• Comes together quickly. It takes about 5 minutes to prep the ingredients and stir them together, plus 15–20 minutes to steep the tea in hot milk.
• Works with tea bags or loose leaves. Whether you prefer tea bags or loose-leaf tea, this recipe works for both.

Making Earl Grey glaze for the first time? Check out the ingredient notes, step-by-step instructions, and tips. Already familiar? Jump straight to the recipe card.

Ingredients and Substitutes

• Powdered sugar. The base of the glaze.
• Earl Grey tea. Either tea bags or tea leaves are fine.
• Milk. Full-fat milk is the best option, but low-fat or skim should work in a pinch.

Step-by-Step: How to Make Earl Grey Glaze

1. Infuse the milk. Heat the milk in a pot until it’s just below boiling. Remove it from the heat, add the tea leaves or tea bags, whisk well, and let it steep for 15–20 minutes. If the milk doesn’t fully cover the tea bags in the pot, transfer the milk to a small glass for steeping.

2. Strain the milk. Strain the milk, squeezing the tea leaves or tea bags to extract all the flavor.

3. Whisk the glaze. In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar (sift it if it’s lumpy). Gradually add the infused milk, a little at a time, stirring well after each addition. You want a glaze that flows slowly and smoothly off the whisk. If it gets too thin, add more powdered sugar until you reach the right consistency.

4. Use immediately. Drizzle or brush the glaze over your desserts or baked goods. Make sure they’re completely cool before glazing.

Notes

• There will be leftover milk. You only need a small amount of infused milk for the glaze, but steeping in such a tiny amount is nearly impossible. Add the extra milk to a cup of freshly brewed Earl Grey tea for a stronger flavor, or discard it. Just don’t drink it straight (trust me, it’s no good).
• Add milk gradually. You’ll need about 3 to 6 teaspoons of milk per 1 cup of powdered sugar for the right consistency. Start with two teaspoons to get things going, then make smaller additions as you get closer to the desired texture. When you’re almost there, just a few drops can make all the difference.
• Scaling the recipe. If you need more glaze, there’s no need to steep double the milk for double the powdered sugar. That’ll just leave you with even more leftover milk. Instead, increase the steep by half and add plain milk while whisking if you run out of the steep.

FAQ

Related Recipes to Try

Recipes that use this glaze:

• Earl Grey madeleines. Madeleines are these simple mini cakes you can whip up in 15 minutes using pantry staples. Highly recommended if you’ve never had one.

Looking for more glaze recipes? Try these:

• Powdered sugar glaze. The simplest glaze—just 2–3 ingredients and 5 minutes to make.
• Maple syrup glaze. Perfect when maple syrup fits the flavor profile but is too runny on its own.
• Brown butter glaze. Rich and nutty, pairing beautifully with similar flavors (nuts, chocolate, spices) or contrasting ones (fresh fruit, citrus).

Into Earl Grey desserts? Check these out:

• Earl Grey pastry cream. A simple recipe that turns a couple of pantry staples into a delicious Earl Grey flavored cream you can use to fill eclairs, cream puffs, tarts, or use in layered desserts.

Earl Grey Glaze

The perfect finishing touch for your Earl Grey desserts.

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Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Steep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Earl Grey, Glaze, Icing, Powdered Sugar, Topping

Servings: 0.33 cup

Author: Marcin Skrzypiec

Equipment

• Whisk
• Food scale

Ingredients

Earl Grey Steep:

• 1/3 cup milk ~80g
• 2 tablespoons Earl Grey tea leaves or 2 Earl Grey tea bags, about 4 g

Earl Grey Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar ~130 g
• 6 teaspoons Earl Grey Steep

Instructions

Earl Grey Steep:

• Steep the tea. Heat milk until just below boiling, then remove from heat. Add tea leaves or bags and steep for 15–20 minutes.
  1/3 cup milk, 2 tablespoons Earl Grey tea leaves
• Strain the milk. Strain the tea-infused milk, squeezing out as much flavor as possible.

Earl Grey Glaze:

• Make the glaze. Gradually whisk infused milk into powdered sugar until the glaze is smooth and flows slowly. Make smaller additions as you get closer to the desired texture.
  1 cup powdered sugar, 6 teaspoons Earl Grey Steep
• Use immediately. Drizzle or brush onto cooled baked goods and desserts.

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Notes

There will be leftover Earl Grey infused milk.

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