tea-foods:

This recipe uses my favorite spices for chai, but feel free to add allspice, peppercorns, nutmeg, mace, vanilla, or any spice you normally like to steep in your chai. It will be fantastic any which way!


Chai Tea Ice Cream

Makes 1 1/2 quarts

  • 2 cups heavy cream, divided
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 6 bags black tea (Assam, English Breakfast, Earl Grey, or a full-bodied Darjeeling are best)
  • 1-inch piece ginger, sliced into thin coins
  • 3 cinnamon sticks, broken apart
  • 4 star anise
  • 1/4 tablespoon ground cardamom
  • 1 tablespoon cloves
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 5 large egg yolks

The night before, put your ice cream freezer bowl in the freezer.

The day of, gather all your ingredients. I have to admit I love making chai because I love looking at all those beautiful and exotic spices!

Chai tea ice cream ingredients

Keep 1 cup of heavy cream in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

Combine the other 1 cup of heavy cream with the milk, tea bags, ginger, chai spices, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.

Combine heavy cream, milk, tea bags, ginger, chai spices, sugar, and salt over medium-low heat

Heat the mixture until it starts to bubble around the edges, but do not let it boil. If it looks like it’s going to boil, remove the saucepan from your stove and adjust the heat.

Once you see bubbles on the surface, lower your heat and steep for about 30 minutes until the chai is well infused with the tea and spices.

Scald the mixture and steep spices in the chai for 30 minutes

Meanwhile, pour the remaining 1 cup of cold heavy cream into a bowl, and place a fine mesh sieve over it.

Pour cold heavy cream into a bowl and fit with a sieve

Remove the chai from heat and strain the mixture into the bowl of heavy cream. I like to press down on the tea bags with a spoon to really get all that wonderful flavor out. Give everything a good stir.

Strain chai into cold heavy cream

Stir to combine chai and heavy cream

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Temper the yolks by pouring a small amount of chai into the bowl and whisking it quickly so you don’t cook the yolks (and end up with scrambled eggs).

Whisk and temper the egg yolks

Keep adding a small amount of chai at a time and whisk until everything is smooth and well blended. You have now just made your custard base!

Custard base

Return the custard to your saucepan and heat it through over low heat. Stir the custard until it thickens just enough to coat a spoon, about 5 minutes.

Heat custard until it thickens slightly

Transfer the custard to a bowl and bring it to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.

Once the custard is nice and cold, churn it in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. Mine took about 15 minutes to churn into a thick and creamy texture.

Churn the custard in your ice cream maker

I like my ice cream a bit firmer though, so I scooped it into an airtight container and put it in the freezer for another couple hours. Let me tell you… Those were the longest two hours of my life! I think I opened the freezer door no less than five times to “check” on the ice cream. But after tormenting myself all morning, it was well worth the wait!