I bought an ice cream maker last week and got experimenting right away! While trying to come up with the perfect fall flavour to bring to Friendsgiving potluck this weekend, one that wasn’t too obvious (looking at you, pumpkin spice), couldn’t be found at the store, and wouldn’t be out of place next to a slice of pie, I eventually landed on chai tea & Baileys. I’m glad I waited for the perfect idea, because this one’s a real winner! It tastes just like the holidays.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups whole milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• ½ cup loose leaf chai tea
  • fairly inexpensive at Bulk Barn
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream
• 1-2/3 cup heavy cream

Method

1. Add milk, sugar and salt to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar while bringing to a simmer.
2. Remove mixture from heat and stir in the tea leaves. Cover and let steep for 15 minutes.
3. Strain mixture into a clean, medium sized saucepan, making sure to press the tea leaves to get every bit of liquid out.
4. Bring back to a simmer.
5. Beat the egg yolks in small bowl and temper with the milk mixture. (Slowly stir about ½ cup of milk mixture into the egg yolks, then add the egg mixture back to the milk to slowly bring the eggs up to temperature and not curdle them. Don’t worry if some curdles, we’ll strain again later.)
6.  Cook over low heat, stirring almost constantly, until you have a nice custard thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (or until it reaches 175○F). Do not allow custard to come to a boil. Strain into a medium bowl and chill in the fridge until cold.
7. Stir in the Baileys and heavy cream.
8. Churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. (I got my ice cream maker here.)
9. You can eat it now but it will be better if you freeze it overnight. Scoop into a suitable container and press cling wrap down onto the surface.
10. Optional: garnish with cinnamon.

All photos by me.