One of the best and most rewarding trips I’ve ever taken was to India. From the tea plantations in Darjeeling to the beaches of Goa to the Ganges and colours of Rajisthan, it’s an amazing country.
The eating was fantastic (as long as you do as they do and avoid meat) and the drink of choice, outside of Goa with it’s exotic fruit drinks, was chai. Served up in cans by chai wallahs (vendors) it was sweet (they use lots of condensed milk) and fragrant.
Feeling nostalgic for the warmth of India in this seemingly endless winter, I made a chai ice cream today, and decided to add a bit of honey for additional 
sweetness. I also tossed in some (but not too many) dark chocolate chips because I wanted some kick!
To the right is what the finished product looked like…
If you want to try it, the recipe is below. You’ll notice it’s almost identical to the recipe for Honey Lavender ice cream from a previous post.
Murphys Honey-Chai Ice Cream Honey-Chai Ice Cream Honey-Chai Ice Cream Honey-Chai Ice Cream Honey-Chai Ice Cream
1 Cup (237ml) Sugar
5 Egg Yolks
1 1/8 Cups (266ml) Cream
1 1/8 Cups(266ml) Milk
6 Chai teabags
2 Cups (475ml) Water
1 tablespoons liquid honey
A handful of dark chocolate chips.
Yield: 6 Servings
1. Boil the chai in the water until the water has reduced to 1/10th of the volume.
2. Remove from the heat and strain. Stir in the honey.
3. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow.
4. Bring the milk to a simmer.
5. Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream.
6. Pour the mixture back into pan and place over low heat. Stir until the custard thickens slightly (around 70C). Use a thermometer, as at 75C the eggs will scramble!
7. Allow the custard to cool.
8. Mix in the lavender/honey and chocolate chips.
9. Whip the cream.
10. Gently fold in the custard.
11. Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, or cover and place in the freezer.
Notes: 1. I suggest you use a simple, liquid honey. Darker or more complex honeys will have a very strong flavour, so in that case use less!
2. If you can’t find chai in your supermarket, you’ll find it in the tea section of your health food shop. I used organic Clipper chai (see top photo).
Technorati tags: chocolate chip, chai, honey, ice cream, recipe
I was telling a friend about chai at the weekend – in New Zealand chai lattes were all the rage and Kapiti make a chai ice cream that’s even better than their retro gingernut flavour – pieces of gingernut biscuits and crystallised ginger with sherry, just like a very 70s desert! – and that’s saying something.
I have yet to make this, but am a huge fan of chai tea. This recipe sounds delicious, and the picture makes it so much more appealing. I’ll go try this soon.
Caroline’s right – chai is big in NZ – most cafes have it as a matter of course.
I’ve just moved to Dublin and am looking for cafes where I can get chai – any recommendations?
I just made this Honey-Chai ice cream last night with my new ice cream maker from a thrift shop over here in St. Louis, MO – and all I can say is – thankyouthankyouthankyou! I searched a lot of websites for recipes and this one turned out perfectly! I made a few changes… my chai tea was not as strong maybe (“Golden Chai”) so before I folded in the whipped cream, I added a few sprinkles of ground cinnamon and a dash of dried ginger to the custard base. I also splashed a little vanilla in with the whipping cream and a little honey in at the very end of the churn cycle… I think I will have to put a lock on the fridge so there’s some left when my friends come by later! The texture is out of this world. Next stop – lemon-ginger sorbet.