Chai custards sing of sweet spices: ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves. They're delicately sweet little pots of cream and eggs baked into lovely desserts.
The first note that hits your tongue is the sweetness, followed by the milky notes of black tea when finally the soft whisper of spice rolls forward as you finish your bite. Serve them with a dollop of freshly whipped, unsweetened cream which helps to balance the natural sweetness of the custards.
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What is Masala Chai?
Masala chai is a distinct blend of tea and spices that, when steeped in milk make Ginger, green cardamom, and Assam tea form the distinct flavor and aroma of Masala Chai. To that fragrant blend, other spices are sometimes added depending on the region and personal preference. Star anise, whole cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, fennel seeds, and rose petals are often added.
In Eastern medicine and folkloric traditions, these spices are considered warming spices; that is, they bring fire to the belly and help digestion. Their vibrant flavors and fire make this custard a perfect wintertime dessert when you want something that's both soothing and nourishing, but warming, too.
Where to find organic herbs and spices
You can find many fresh herbs at your local grocery store; however, medicinal herbs can be harder to find locally. We recommend Starwest Botanicals because they stock a wide assortment of organic and ethically wildcrafted culinary and medicinal herbs.
Making Chai Custards
Gently steeping the tea and spices in milk and half-and-half infuses them with a delicate flavor, one that is softer and less pronounced than the Chai Tea Lattés you might buy at the local coffee shop. These custards offer a gentler and milder flavor without the tannic, bitter overtones of tea steeped too long.
Using whole spices will give these chai custards a beautiful flavor and aroma. While ground spices provide a more distinct flavor, they also run the risk of curdling your custards, and whole spices act more gently upon the milk and egg mixture that forms the base of a beautiful, and well-executed custard.
To bake these custards, you'll need to prepare a bain-marie. A bain-marie is a French technique that allows custards and other delicate foods to cook gently and evenly. You'll fill a baking dish halfway with hot water from your tap and then set it in the warmth of a slow oven to preheat while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
And when your little cocottes or ramekins are filled, you'll gently place them into the hot water where they'll bake away quietly until they set. If you forget to prepare your bain-marie and set the custards directly on the rack in your oven, they'll heat too quickly from the outside, and the eggs will curdle and break instead of forming a smooth, creamy custard.
Jessica says
This looks amazing.
laurel says
How do you get molassas to not curdle the milk from its acids? In say butterscotch you mix it with the butter first and then add cream but milk is even more temperamental...
Sophia says
Can't get rose petals where I am. Figured out why that milk needed to come off the stove ASAP after reaching boiling point.. didn't look good after unintentionally leaving it on the boil for a couple of minutes longer.
Yum 🙂
cas says
yep, mine curdled too 🙁
Lizzy K says
I saw this recipe and knew I needed to make it! I made it this morning for breakfast using farm fresh eggs and fresh jersey milk from our cow. I had read others trouble with the separated milk so I put the spices in he milk the night before and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. This morning I heated the milk to a simmer and added in the molasses and sugar and baked it in a 9-13'' pan. It turned out so great! Better than I expected! Our whole family loved it! It was a great way to use our gallon jug of blackstrap! Thank you for this recipe!
Crystalline Ruby Muse says
Where do you get your rose petals?
Mary says
This recipe sounded perfect for our Dec 1 family holiday gathering, which ended with a dessert tasting. The mixture of organic blackstrap molasses, raw jersey milk and spices curdled by the time the 20 minute infusion was up. I was unable to rescue it by fine sieving, and after reading that Gavin had a similar problem, we fortunately had enough milk to try again. We suspected the acidity in the molasses so infused in milk only and beat the molasses into the eggs before adding the milk. This resolved the curdling but the intensity of the infusion was greatly reduced. Next time I'll infuse the spices in the molasses with the same amount of whey. Gavin's idea of turning it into a pudding with half the number of eggs would work for me as well.
Having tasted both infusions, my chai loving daughter and I missed the intensity in the final product, but the newbies to chai thought it rather exotic, and cleaned up their Crème brûlée instead. We'll keep the chai custard for our own little treat!