Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Almond Chai Ice Cream


I love Chai. For those of you who think of it as just a sweet, syrupy, sticky concoction, you are so wrong.

What makes the perfect chai is really the balance of fresh spices. Adding milk or sugar is just a bonus.

The other day, in the mood to experiment, I decided to try something fun with my Chai. Ice Cream!! I loved Almond Chai, though it is hard to find, so I got out my almond milk & began my journey.

I adapted this recipe from David Lebovitz’s Perfect Scoop, and it came out even more awesome than I could have ever dreamed.

The soft creamy flavor of the Almond milk was the perfect partner for the deep rich spiciness of the Chai. We actually had cups of the tea steeped in almond milk while waiting for the ice cream base to meld, and it was wonderful. We didn’t add sugar, so the tea was lightly sweet, allowing the spices to shine. This was a necessity as it has been raining here like mad.

If you haven’t tried Rishi Tea, they have lots of awesome teas! I had the delightful pleasure of actually getting to try them at the Fancy Food Show and I have def become a fan! It was quite a pleasure to smell all the different blends, which I am now trying as I can.

Luna’s Almond Chai Ice Cream

3 c almond milk

3/4 c cane sugar

2 tsp Rishi Organic Masala Chai

7 yolks

Warm milk through, but do not boil. You can steep your tea while the milk is heating, for a deeper flavor, otherwise, add tea once your turn off the heat & let steep at least a half an hour.

Whisk yolks & sugar, then add strained milk a bit at a time to make sure it doesn’t curdle. Once you have it all combined, turn your heat on low and stir constantly until ‘nappe’, (coats the back of the spoon.) Pull it off the heat immediately, strain & set bowl into an ice bath.*

*I actually did not have an ice bath, it was cold, so I set it under the kitchen window!

Cool, chill, then freeze per machines instructions.

I hope that you make this and enjoy it. If you do, leave a comment, I love to hear from you!

2 comments:

  1. I made this last night and it was DELICIOUS!! Thanks so much for the recipe! I'll definitely make it again. The only differences in mine were that I used regular old chai tea bags (2 for a half recipe) and regular old granulated sugar. YUMMY!!

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  2. We just tried this and it did not turn out as expected. We followed the directions as best we could, but the solids separated from the liquids at the last step. It never became nappe, but instead was chunky. We'll try a different recipe next time. While I'm trying to salvage it now, I think we just wasted seven eggs.

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