Author Notes
This spicy ice cream was inspired by the chai I was taught to make by old employers of mine. This was before chai was everywhere. They made it for their whole family a few times a day. I kept asking them "What is this awesome drink called?" and they always looked at me confused. "It's tea, just tea." —creaturecuisine
Ingredients
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1/4 cup
green cardamom pods (cracked)
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3 teaspoons
fennel seed
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5
whole cloves
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10
black peppercorns
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2 1/2 tablespoons
loose black tea
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1 1/8 cups
sugar
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1 pinch
salt
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5
egg yolks
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3 cups
whole milk
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2 pints
heavy cream
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3
reusable tea/ herb bags
Directions
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Crack the cardamom pods and fill one of the tea bags with them. Put the milk, cream, sugar, salt and cardamom in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
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In teabag number 2, add fennel seed, clove and peppercorn. Crush it up a bit and add to the mixture. Put heat on low, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Bring back up to a simmer. Remove spices. Whip egg yolks and slowly add your mixture to temper the eggs. Return to pot and set temp to med-high.
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Add tea to the last teabag and put in the mixture. Heat until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, stirring constantly to prevent scalding.
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Take off heat, remove tea and let cool. Transfer to a fridge safe bowl. It's going to develop a skin. You can remove it, but I just whip it back in. Chill in the fridge.
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Use your ice cream maker according to directions. It takes my maker about 22 minutes. This makes 2 batches. Serve right away for soft serve, but I think it's better to put in a container and let it firm up in the freezer.
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Musical pairings inspired by the time period when I learned to make Chai... Hyperballad ~Bjork, Plowed ~Sponge, Crank ~Catherine Wheel, & Fake Plastic Trees ~Radiohead.
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