First things first. I need to apologize. This I’m sorry goes out to the nice people at Golden Blossom Honey who sent me a bottle of their liquid gold back in, gulp, July. Folks, I understand how bad it was for me to hold on to the honey for so long without telling readers about it, I really do.
But please, please don’t think that I wasn’t grateful or, um, not using the honey. I was. For instance, that Fresh Mozzarella, Heirloom Tomato and Basil Pizza I devoured a few days ago? It was the bottle of Golden Blossom Honey that fed the yeast instead of sugar in the crust. And the Stone Fruit Rosé Sangria used a full half cup of Golden Blossom Honey, which is why my bottle is almost empty.
Of course, there are also the little dibs and dabs that disappeared through drizzling Golden Blossom Honey on buttered toast (swoon), Hubby’s dollops of sweetness in his occasional cups of tea. You know how it goes. Right?
I promise though, today is all about you. Well, you and Boo. Remember Boo? She’s Dudette’s good friend, the blonde girly girl yin to my little one’s dark-haired, tomboy yang.
Whenever I think of chai latte, I think of Boo, which is a little odd since she’s only seven. You see, in addition to being a neighbor, schoolmate and friend, Boo takes Tae Kwon Do with Dudette. Her mom and I have spent countless hours on the hard benches together, chatting about life while watching our kids practice. I drink my water and Boo’s mom enjoys her, wait for it, chai latte.
And yes, you’ve rightly guessed that Boo loves the latte and always gets at least a few sips before the cup is empty.
So when the planets finally aligned (Dudette went back to school) and it was time for me to come up with a unique recipe that included the Golden Blossom Honey, I kept thinking about chai latte. Before too long, Honey Chai Latte Ice Cream was born.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup honey, divided
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 star anise
- 4 black tea bags
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Stir together the cream, milk, ¼ cup honey and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat the pan to medium-high, stirring occasionally. when bubbles begin to form at the edge of the pan, remove it from the heat.
- Add the tea bags (leave the tabs hanging over the edge for easy removal) cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom and nutmeg to the milk mixture and let soak for 30 minutes.
- While the mixture steeps, place the egg yolks in a medium bowl, whisking them gently for ten seconds. Whisk in the sugar until fully incorporated with the yolks. Set aside.
- Uncover the cream mixture and discard the tea bags, cinnamon stick and star anise. Return the saucepan to medium-high heat and watch for the cream to just begin to simmer. Reduce the heat to medium.
- Use a ladle to slowly pour ½ cup of the hot cream into the yolks, whisking the yolks constantly. Add another ½ cup of the hot cream, still whisking. This will keep the yolks from cooking when they're added to the rest of the cream mixture.
- While stirring the whole time, slowly pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan. Continue cooking and stirring, making sure to drag the wooden spoon across the whole bottom of the saucepan until the custard thickens so it coats the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is dragged through it, approximately five - seven minutes.
- Immediately take the saucepan off the heat and pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve and into a metal bowl. Set the bowl in a larger bowl that is filled with ice. Stir the custard frequently to help it cool faster, then remove it from the ice. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the top of the custard and refrigerate it until cold, about an hour.
- When ready, pour the custard into ice cream maker to churn. When done, transfer the ice cream to a container, Pour the remaining ¼ cup of honey down the center of the ice cream, stir gently one or two times with a spatula to create swirls and freeze until set.
- Serve the Honey Chai Latte Ice Cream with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkling of freshly ground nutmeg.
The Verdict
Yup, Boo Loved it. She also loved idea of ‘drinking’ her ice cream out of a tea cup. Notice the pinky out in true princess fashion? And the nail polish? And the Tae Kwon Do uniform? This is why she and Dudette are good friends, they keep us guessing.
Since I have never had a real chai latte, I wasn’t a good person to decide if I had hit the flavor on the mark. I thought it tasted fantastic, but was it really chai? Even though Boo loved it, she’s seven and didn’t have a clue what chai was supposed to taste like.
So, since we were all clueless, I took a serving to Boo’s mom and asked her. Yup, this is chai latte in ice cream form, satisfyingly spicy with ribbons of honey giving it extra richness and decadence. It’s a keeper.
The Giveaway
Golden Blossom Honey has been kind enough to provide a bottle of their signature honey for a giveaway and I do hope you’ll try to win it.
You see, unlike most brands, Golden Blossom is a blend of pure honeys. They began blending their exclusive, secret recipe back in 1921. It’s a combination of orange, sage buckwheat and extra white clover honeys. Three distinctively different varieties of honey – each one thick, rich and deliciously pure – blended to create the signature flavor of Golden Blossom Honey.
For a chance to win, all you have to do is enter using the Rafflecopter dohickey below. The giveaway ends at midnight on September 2 and I’ll be choosing a winner on Tuesday, September 3. Be sure to check the Q&A page for all giveaway guidelines if you’re curious about the official mumbo-jumbo.
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