This chai ice cream is a delicious combination of creamy ice cream with lots of wonderful warm spice flavors. Whether you're a chai latte fan, or enjoy the more traditional Indian chai, the lovely flavor is sure to be one you'll enjoy.
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We've had a lot of fun experimenting with ice cream flavors in recent years, whether it's no churn ice creams like cherry ice cream and pumpkin ice cream, or churned ones like ginger ice cream. All have been popular and go into more regular rotation.
This chai version was another that we all really enjoyed and will be sure to repeat, especially since it's a flavor that feels perfect no matter the season. It's a delicious balance of creaminess with lots of aromatic spice flavor from cinnamon, star anise, ginger and more.
What is chai?
Chai is the Hindi word for "tea", one of the major languages used in India. But generally speaking, chai is synonymous with the Indian drink, masala chai, where tea, milk and spices are combined. It's the most common way to prepare tea in India.
Chai lattes and the like originate from this drink which you'll find across India, and in Indian communities around the globe. It's sold by street vendors, enjoyed in homes and served at special occasions.
The exact spices used in masala chai vary from region to region, as well as personal preferences, but they typically include at least cardamom, cinnamon and cloves and/or allspice. Ginger and star anise are common, too, and you might also include peppercorns, nutmeg or coriander seeds. I've suggested a mix I like below, but you can vary to your taste and what you have.
The ice cream base
The ice cream base here is what you might describe as a custard base as it's a mixture of heavy cream (double cream), milk, egg yolks and sugar. This is different from no churn ice creams. They use a mixture of whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk to get to a similar end texture without churning.
Different styles of ice cream use different proportions of milk and cream, and also different numbers of egg yolks. Or none, as in sherbets like this blackberry sherbet. In this ice cream recipe, I have gone on the lower end yolks-wise, adding three for three cups of dairy.
To me, it's enough to help give a relatively rich texture, but not so many so that they mask all that lovely spice and tea flavor (I use the same amount of yolks in my rhubarb ice cream for similar reasons).
Adding the chai flavor
You could, in theory, just use chai tea bags to infuse the base and you would get both the spice and tea flavors in there. However, I prefer to be a bit more intentional with the spices in there, and also have more spice than tea coming through. So instead, I have used a range of whole spices and "plain" tea.
The spices go in first, partly as they need more time to infuse the creamy base, but also so they flavor it more. Then, you add the tea and let it infuse further. You can use loose leaf tea or tea bags as you prefer, but use a good quality black tea either way. I then checked the flavor and added a little more ground spices to boost the spice slightly.
This part is optional and may vary. I prefer not to use all ground spices as I think there's a risk it can taste grainy. But also I didn't find there was quite enough spice flavor from the whole spices alone, to my taste.
Whether you need to add additional ground spice will depend how fresh your whole spices are, how long it infuses, and your taste, too. So it's worth tasting the base and seeing if it seems chai-enough for you.
Making the base into ice cream
Once you have the milk-cream base infused, you make the custard by tempering the eggs then thickening it by warming the mixture further. It won't become that thick, but it will at least thicken a little.
Strain the mixture to remove the tea, spices and any milk or egg solids that have formed. Then cool the mixture well before churning. This is important with any churned ice cream as if you don't chill the mixture, it will at best take a while to freeze in the ice cream maker, but may not firm up properly at all.
Once the base is cool enough, churn until it's a soft serve consistency, then transfer to a container and place in the freezer. Leave it a few hours to firm up then scoop and enjoy.
How to serve chai ice cream
This ice cream has a lovely flavor to it, as well as being wonderfully creamy, too. It's sweet, but not overly so, and similarly creamy without being too rich. It's delicious just as it is, on it's own or paired with other flavors that compliment the spices (vanilla, caramel, honey and ginger all come to mind).
But it would also be great served with desserts like apple pie or crumble, especially ones with a little spice in them. It would be great with a skillet cookie, too.
Chai ice cream has a delicious mix of spice flavors, creaminess and gentle sweetness. It's cooling enough to be great for summer, but with flavors that fit in perfectly in the colder months, too. So worth trying sometime soon.
Try these other tasty frozen treats:
- Persimmon ginger sorbet (another flavor great in colder months)
- Coffee granita (with a great coffee flavor)
- Roasted strawberry ice cream (no churn)
- Mango paletas (ice pops, packed with real fruit)
- Plus get more dessert recipes in the archives.
Chai ice cream
Ingredients
For spice-infused milk-cream base
- 1 ½ cups milk whole/full fat milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream double cream
- 1 cinnamon stick or 2 if smaller/thin
- 1 star anise
- 8 cardamom pods (green cardamom)
- 8 cloves
- 8 allspice whole
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
- 3 slices ginger fresh
For rest of ice cream
- 2 bags black tea or 3 if you prefer stronger
- ¼ teaspoon masala chai spice optional, if needed
- 3 egg yolks
- ⅔ cup sugar divided
Instructions
For spice-infused base
- Place the milk and cream in a heavy based pot/pan and add the whole spices - cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom, cloves, allspice, peppercorns and slices of fresh ginger.
- Warm the mixture over a medium low heat for around 5 - 10 minutes, until the mixture is warm but not boiling. Remove from heat and leave to steep around 45 minutes.
For rest of ice cream
- Add the tea bags to the spiced milk-cream base, along with around half of the sugar. Warm again for a couple minutes to re-heat but again without simmering, then leave to steep around 10 minutes. You should notice the color becoming quite a bit darker.
- Whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a small bowl until well combined and slightly glossy.
- Taste a little of the milk-cream base and if needed, add a little ground masala chai spice to boost the spice flavors. Re-warm the milk-cream mixture over a medium heat until it is starting to steam slightly but just below reaching a simmer.
- Carefully add a small amount (around a couple tablespoons or so) of the warm milk-cream mixture to the yolk mixture and whisk as you add so it combines without cooking the egg. Once mixed, add a little more, mix then repeat.
- After you have added the warm milk around three or four times, pour the eggy mixture in to the main pot/pan. I suggest removing the tea bags at this stage, though you can leave a little longer if you prefer. Place the pot back on the stove over a medium-low heat. Warm the mixture, stirring constantly, so that it thickens up a little. Take care - DO NOT BOIL. It should warm to around 170F/76C. It won't thicken all that much but at least a little.
- Strain the mixture through a relatively fine strainer to remove all the spices and any other solids then let the cream mixture cool. After it is cool enough, place in the fridge to chill at least a few hours but ideally overnight.
- Once chilled, follow your ice cream maker's instructions to churn the mixture to a soft serve consistency. Once soft-serve texture, add in the chopped crystalized ginger pieces, churn briefly to mix then transfer to a container and place in freezer for a few hours to firm up before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
I use this Cuisinart ice cream maker which works well (affiliate link).
See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store.
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