My husband and I love ice cream, I mean REALLY love it! Even when it is 40F degrees out we still love a heap of Häagen-Daz. So a few weeks ago we were completely out (horror!) so I ventured to the nearest PCC and to my dismay they did not carry Häagen-Daz so I grabbed a pint of Stonyfield Farm's vanilla chai. I left the store disappointed and skeptical, but let me tell you.....the vanilla chai did not let us down! So after we devoured the not so low in calorie pint of ice cream I thought I would look for a chai ice cream recipe online and quickly found one here.

So, I ventured back to the store, went to the ice cream section and said farewell to all of the frost bitten pints , gathered all my ingredients and returned home. Overall, this wasn't the easiest ice cream recipe but it definitely was the most delicious. If you like chai and icecream then this concoction will send you to cloud nine. 

Below are all of the key spices that make up chai, you can find all of these at the store and if you dont want to pay for a whole jar of something just go to the bulk spice section (Whole Foods and PCC Market have an excellent variety) and put however much you need in a little bag.

Click below for the recipe...

 Homemade Chai Ice Cream

• 1 star anise star
• 10 whole cloves
• 10 whole allspice
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 10 whole white peppercorns
• 2 cardomom pods, opened to seeds
• 1/4 cup full bodied black tea ( I used loose leaf english breakfast)
• 1 cup whole milk (you could use 2% if you like but it is creamiest with whole)
• 2 cups heavy cream (divided into 1 cups)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 6 egg yolks

Into a heavy saucepan put the 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of the cream and the chai spices - star anise, cloves, allspice, cinnamon sticks, white peppercorns, and cardamom pods, and a pinch of salt. Heat the mixture until steamy (not boiling) and hot to the touch. Lower the heat to warm, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.

Reheat the mixture until steamy hot again (again not boiling), add the black tea leaves, remove from the heat, stir in the tea and let seep for 10 minutes. Use a fine mesh strainer to strain out the tea and spices, pouring the infused milk cream mixture into a separate bowl. (I made this the night before and put the infused milk in the fridge over night to break up the cooking time) Return the milk cream mixture back to the heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the sugar to the milk cream mixture and heat, stirring, until the sugar is fully dissolved.

Prepare the remaining 1 cup of cream over an ice bath. Pour the cream into a medium size metal bowl, set in ice water (with lots of ice) over a larger bowl. Set a mesh strainer on top of the bowls. Set aside.

Whisk the egg yolks in a medium sized bowl. Slowly pour the heated milk cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so that the egg yolks are tempered by the warm mixture, but not cooked by it. Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Return the saucepan to the stove, stirring the mixture constantly over medium/low heat with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon so that you can run your finger across the coating and have the coating not run. This can happen really fast to be careful not to overcook the egg milk mixture.  Remove from heat immediately, and pour through the sieve and into the cold cream in the metal bowl over the ice bath to stop the cooking. 

Once initially chilled in the ice bath, chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (at least a couple of hours). Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Store in an airtight container in your freezer for several hours before eating. Note that the ice cream will be quite soft coming out of the ice cream maker. It will continue harden in your freezer. If stored for more than a day, you may need to let it sit for a few minutes to soften before attempting to scoop it.

Makes 1 quart