Maple Chai Ice Cream with Maple Ripple
A warmly spiced custard ice cream with visible chai specks and ribbons of pure maple syrup.
Servings: 1 Quart
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- Small mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Instant-read thermometer
- Large bowl for an ice bath
- Ice cream maker
- Freezer-safe container
Ingredients
Maple Chai Custard
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup granulated sugar, divided
- 2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 4 large egg yolks
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 whole star anise
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Maple Ripple
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup, chilled
Instructions
Make the Maple Chai Custard
- Add the whole milk, heavy cream, maple syrup, salt, star anise and half of the granulated sugar to a medium saucepan.
- In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg. Whisk the ground spices into the dairy mixture.
- Warm over medium-low heat until steaming and small bubbles begin appearing around the edges. Do not let it boil.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, cover and let the spices steep for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until smooth and slightly lightened.
- Remove the star anise from the cream mixture.
- Slowly pour approximately 1 cup of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly.
- Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan.
- Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously with a silicone spatula, until the custard reaches 170–175°F and lightly coats the back of the spatula.
- Remove the custard from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour the custard through a fine-mesh strainer to catch any pieces of cooked egg. Whisk the fine chai spices collected by the strainer back into the custard—we want those visible spice specks.
- Place the custard over an ice bath and stir until cooled. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Churn the Ice Cream
- Whisk the chilled custard thoroughly to redistribute any spices that settled while chilling.
- Churn according to your ice-cream maker’s instructions until thick and the consistency of soft serve.
Add the Maple Ripple
- Spoon one-third of the churned ice cream into a cold freezer-safe container.
- Drizzle a thin layer of the chilled maple syrup overtop.
- Repeat with the remaining ice cream and maple syrup, creating three layers.
- Run a knife through the ice cream only once or twice to create visible maple ribbons. Do not fully stir it in.
- Cover and freeze for 4–6 hours, or until firm enough to scoop.
Notes
If you’re skipping the maple ripple, increase the maple syrup in the custard from 2 tablespoons to ¼ cup (80 g). Add it to the milk and cream at the beginning of the recipe.
Remember to remove the whole star anise before tempering the egg yolks.
Whisk the fine ground spices collected by the strainer back into the custard to preserve the visible chai specks.
Whisk the chilled custard thoroughly before churning to redistribute any spices that settled.
Chill the maple syrup before layering it through the ice cream.
Use thin drizzles of maple syrup rather than creating heavy pools.
Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 5–10 minutes before scooping.
Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Tried this recipe?Mention @theslottedspoons or tag #theslottedspoons!