Homemade Chai Ice Cream
No matter what age, gender or nationality, it’s rare to hear someone say ‘I don’t like ice cream’. It’s one of those nostalgic foods that can transport you to those hot summer days as a kid when life was easier. The hardest decision though is choosing the flavour and for me chai masala really it’s the spot. No matter what your flavour, I think all ice cream lovers can agree there really is no comparison to homemade ice cream.
It’s really not that hard to make, with only 4-5 ingredients but often avoided with the prerequisite of needing an ice cream maker. Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t need an ice cream maker to make homemade ice cream.
What’s so good about homemade ice cream
Like most things that taste better homemade you can control the quality of the ingredients you use when making ice cream at home and use fresh fruits, spices and flavours. If a manufacturer used the same ingredients you used at home to make their ice cream you’d be seeing a well-inflated price tag on the shelve. It’s also the churning ‘or in our case the ‘no churn’ method that creates a velvety, smooth and silky texture that puts it’s supermarket counterparts to shame
How to make ice cream without an ice cream maker
So you ask, how can you possibly end up with silky smooth ice cream at home without an ice cream maker? Well, it does take some patience but at the same time so do most good things in life. All you’ll need is a food processor, or if you are a real food appliance minimalist at the very least you’ll need a whisk. The process involves chilling the creme Anglaise, translated as thick egg custard, the french sounds so much better. Anyway, chill the creme Anglaise in the freezer and every hour remove the mixture and either whisk vigorously or pour into the food processor to blitz before replacing it back into the freezer, and repeat every hour until completely frozen. The purpose of this process is to avoid any ice crystals from forming and preventing the ice cream achieving that silky smooth texture.
What are the best ice cream flavours?
This is the fun part, choosing a flavour for your ice cream. Get creative. There are endless fruits, spices and interesting flavour combinations you can use. In this recipe we use fresh masala chai to infuse the milk and cream, the longer you leave the leaves in the hot liquid the stronger the flavour will be, again patience is key here.
Easy and creamy chai flavoured ice cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup loose chai leaves ((see recipe) )
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- In a medium saucepan combine milk, cream and chai leaves. Gently heat over a low heat, careful not to boil.
- Once the mixture is hot, remove from heat and leave to cool slightly
- In a large bowl (or kitchen aid) combine the eggs and sugar, beating for 4-5 minutes until thick and pale
- Using a seive strain the milk mixture into the eggs and continue beating until combined
- Pour mixture back into a clean saucepan and heat over low heat continuing to stir until the mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon
- Once the mixture has thickened pour into a chilled container and place in the freezer
- Every 2 hours pour mixture into a food processor and blitz to smooth before returning mixture to the freezer
- Once frozen solid it's ready to serve
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