Chai Tea Ice Cream + Chai Coconut Ice Cream Sandwiches
If you’re looking forward to pumpkin spice latte season, but are still sweating through summer, this Chai Tea Ice Cream recipe may fulfill your cravings!
Autumn is coming, but you don’t have to wait for cool weather to treat yourself to the flavors of fall! This recipe combines the taste of your favorite chai tea with rich vanilla ice cream to give you a little boost of snuggled-in happiness all year round!
This post first appeared July 12, 2012 as part of the Simple Sundays series. I hope you enjoy this favorite from my kitchen!
Coffee or tea? For me, coffee is both a daily necessity and an indulgence. But hot cups of tea are for when I need a little pampering. They remind me of the company of dear friends and chats over comforting sips. There is something so consoling about the ritual of tea… steeping the leaves, swirling the string from the tea bag around the spoon, the fragrance released… I love that.
Tea is something I associate with winter and snowy days. But yesterday, I found myself craving the comforting flavors of a rich chai tea, scented with cinnamon, cardamom, clove, and orange. So I did the next logical thing. I made Chai Tea Ice Cream.
Several summers ago, I was an ice cream-making machine. Every weekend, I would churn out quarts of creamy deliciousness. But my ice cream maker saw a lull in recent years as I’ve been favoring frozen yogurts. When I warmed the cream and milk on the stove, stirring my custard to a thick silkiness, I realized that I had missed the rituals behind ice cream making, too. The tea leaves floating in the cream released the most soothing aroma and the whole process was so familiar and so calming.
I know that today is Simple Sundays, and you may be thinking that homemade ice cream may not be appropriate for today’s post. But I assure you, once you’ve made ice cream at home, you will find that it really is not too difficult. And besides, today is National Ice Cream Day! Yes, indeed, there is such a thing.
One spoonful of my freshly churned Chai Tea Ice Cream and I was in heaven. I had to take it a step further. I brought out some toasted coconut cookies and smeared them with a dollop of coconut jam – a gift from friends. The ice cream went between the cookies, and the chai and coconut flavors worked together so beautifully that my eyes rolled to the back of my head in bliss.
So treat yourself. If there’s such a thing as a soothing and luxurious ice cream, this is it. I just know you will love it.
Disclaimer: Several months ago, Two Leaves and a Bud sent me a selection of their superb organic teas. I finally had a chance to make something wonderful with them and have grown to love the teas, their company’s philosophy, and their earth conscious sachets. I was neither compensated nor required to write about their product. All opinions are, as always, genuinely my own.
More Ice Cream Sandwiches
Baked Churro Ice Cream Sandwiches (Non-Dairy)
Butterscotch Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches
Flavors of Fall
Pumpkin Spice Buttermilk Bundt Cake
Simple Sundays | Apple Pecan Loaf Cake
Sweet Potato Challah
Cinnamon Chip and Walnut Pumpkin Muffins
Chai Tea Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup skim milk
- 2/3 cup sugar divided
- 1/4 cup chai tea such as Two Leaves and a Bud Mountain High Chai
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
- 4 egg yolks
Instructions
Chai Tea Ice Cream
- In a medium sauce pan, combine the heavy cream, skim milk, tea, vanilla, salt, and 1/3 cup of the sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Use a wooden spoon to stir, dissolving the sugar, and bring the cream mixture to about 175 degrees (about 8 minutes). Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and allow the tea infused cream to steep for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl, and slowly add the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar, whisking for about 4 minutes, or until the eggs are light in color and thick. When the cream finishes steeping, ladle 1 cup of the hot cream in a drizzle into the eggs while whisking to temper. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, and gently cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for about 8-10 minutes. You will know the custard is ready when you are able to coat the back of your wooden spoon, and when you run your finger down, it leaves a line.
- Prepare an ice bath. Strain the mixture into the prepared bowl of the ice bath. Depending on your sieve, you may need to strain twice to catch all of the tea leaves. Let the ice cream custard cool for 1 hour in the ice bath, stirring periodically. The ice cream may then be churned immediately, or if you prefer, the following day (keep the mixture chilled in the refrigerator until then).
- Pour the custard into the chilled bowl of your ice cream maker and churn for about 30 minutes. It may be served immediately or stored in an airtight container in the freezer.
Chai Coconut Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Place a small scoop of Chai Tea Ice Cream on one Toasted Coconut Thin Cookie. Smear coconut jam on another cookie, and place on top of the ice cream topped cookie, pressing down gently. Freeze in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Comments
COOKBOOK
I just go introduced to Chai Latte and these sound incredible can’t wait to make them!
I love your ice cream…and your plate! Both are gorgeous!
What a gorgeous flavor for an ice cream! I must admit that coffee is a “need”, but I do love tea and tea flavors :)
think i just died and went to heaven – this is like a dream for me! beautiful recipe, concept and photography! i am drooling!
I really am a coffee kind of girl, both drinking and ice cream but this ice cream looks and sounds delicious and luxurious. I so wish I had a machine I’d make ice cream all the time. This is really beautiful!
I am totally craving chai tea now and chai tea ice cream, sounds divine
Chai tea ice cream!? Very unique. Pairing it with coconut is perfect.I will really try this recipe.I’m sure my kids will love this.
i’m more of a tea lover, coffee is called for only in case of emergencies :)
The chai flavored ice-cream sounds like something I’d have a hard time staying away from
oh, it sounds like a wonderful Sunday treat!
BTW, I can’t choose either between coffee or tea: there will be days were I will have both, at different times (coffee in the am, tea in the pm, for example). They are both “necessary” (and equally delicious) to me!!!
Whoa, seriously gorgeous photos! I found your blog through Tastespotting. Love it!
Wow, thank you so much, Linda! Great to meet you – I love how Tastespotting just introduces us to delicious sites!
Liren, everything about this post is pleasing. The photos are gorgeous as usual! I make ice cream all the time and this recipe will be at the top of my list. It sounds heavenly. I am also a big fan of these cookies – I always have a box in my pantry for uses just like this. Would you be willing to share your source for the coconut jam? What an unexpected but perfect pairing with the chai ice cream.
Thanks Mary! Of course, I will add a link above, but the coconut jam is from Hey Boo Jams, a small company based in San Francisco. I can see making all sorts of goodies with it!
This is wow!!!
I love Chai, this ice cream will be like a dream come true…
Yum!! And that coconut jam looks so good..
I love chai, this is perfection in a bowl, Liren! Perfect for National Ice Cream Day! :)
What timing! I have one bag of chai tea left and the ice cream containers in the freezer are slimming down. This morning I was thinking about what flavor to try next–and this is the one I’ll try!!
Perfect timing indeed, Maria! Hope you have a chance to try this, I know you’ll love it.
This post makes me wish I could eat ice cream. I’m a self confessed chai addict and I think it would make a fabulous ice cream. And pairing it with coconut is perfect. I’m intrigued by you coconut jam – never seen that before. Sounds delicious!
Melissa, I wish you could try this, too! The coconut jam is amazing – it is by Hey Boo Jams – based out of San Francisco. It’s is absolutely delicious.
Chai tea ice cream!? Whooaaa! I would go bonkers for this! I adore chai anything!
It’s a must try if you love chai!