Masala Chai Creme Brulee
Apr 04, 2016, Updated Jan 02, 2018
Masala Chai Creme Brulee, an Indian take on the classic dessert! This creme brulee has all the flavors of chai with a touch of coconut!
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Raise your hands if you love chai! Raise your hands if you love creme brulee! Well, I see so many hands up for both, mine included! And if you also just raised both your hands, then you are in for a treat today! This Masala Chai Creme Brulee is my Indian take on the classic dessert. Creme brulee with all the flavors of chai and a hint of coconut. You wouldn’t want to miss this!
Sometimes the best recipes are unplanned just like this chai creme brulee. Usually I think about a recipe and then make it but sometimes I make them unplanned and it’s so exciting when they turn out well! This weekend, I made some mini cupcakes for a charity foundation. For my vanilla cupcakes, I used a lot of egg whites and so obviously I was left with some egg yolks. Usually I would have thrown them because I was neck deep in work and didn’t really have the mind to think of what to do with those yolks. But I don’t know why I just left them at the counter while I baked some 150 mini cupcakes! When I placed my last batch of cupcakes in the oven, I looked at the yolks and suddenly out of nowhere I thought of making this masala chai creme brulee! It was that instant, no planning whatsoever! I really just worked with whatever I had on hand and I have to say this experiment turned out so well, way beyond my expectations!
Creme brulee is such an easy dessert, yet it looks so fancy. The contrast between the hard sugar crust on top and creamy custad underneath it makes it really special. For this chai creme brulee I used heavy cream and coconut cream. You may use heavy cream only but I thought the coconut went so well with all the other flavors. Since I was making a dessert inspired by the very famous Indian masala chai, I used lot of spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves etc. The process is really simple, you just heat the cream and coconut cream together and then add the spices and black tea bags to it. Let it steep for 15 minutes at least so that all the flavors get absorbed by the cream and them simply combine it with the yolk-sugar mixture, pour the custard into ramekins and bake.
My favorite part about making creme brulee is always when I get to caramelize the sugar with my creme brulee torch. Oh it’s a lot of fun ! I ended up caramelizing the sugar a bit too much at places but that’s okay, not a deal breaker! Chai is an integral part of my culture and so obviously this creme brulee is special to me. I hope you guys give this very flavorful masala chai creme brulee a try! I topped these some store bought toasted coconut chips that I got from Costco but that’s completely optional.
* I love using caster sugar on top of my creme brulee. It’s superfine and hence caramelizes quickly.
* You may use coconut milk in place of coconut cream in this recipe.
PS: those cardamom pods on top of my creme brulee was for photographs only. Don’t serve them like this!
PPS: Since I told you guys how busy I was when I made these, I didn’t get the time to click step by step pictures. Sorry about that but almost similar to the steps pictures in this S’mores Creme Brulee.
Masala Chai Creme Brulee
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup coconut cream or use full fat coconut milk
- 2 black tea bags
- 4 large egg yolks
- 4 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
chai spices
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 5-6 green cardamom pods
- 4 black peppercorns
- 3 cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of nutmeg powder
Topping
- 1-2 teaspoons of caster sugar per ramekin
To serve
- toasted coconut chips
- cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 F degrees.
- Separate eggs and place the yolks in a bowl. Eggs separate best when cold.
- Add granulated sugar to egg yolks and whisk for 2-3 minutes or till sugar is completely dissolved and mixture turns pale yellow.
- Add vanilla extract, whisk till combined and set aside.
- In a pan, put heavy cream and coconut cream on medium heat.
- Meanwhile using your spice grinder, grind green cardamom pods (with the skin), peppercorn and cloves.
- Once the cream mixture heats a bit, add 2 black tea bags.
- Now add the ground cardamom-clove-peppercorn mixture. Add ground ginger, cinnamon powder and nutmeg. Mix to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a point where it starts to simmer.
- Switch off heat and let the spices and tea bags steep in for 10-15 minutes so that the cream absorbs the flavors.
- After 10-15 minutes, remove the tea bags from the mixture [make sure you press the tea bags with a spooon while removing them so that more chai flavors gets incorporated into the custard] and then add the cream to the egg yolk-sugar mixture, little at a time, stirring continuously.
- Divide the mixture equally among 4 round ramekins.
- Transfer the ramekins to a pan and then fill the pan with boiling water till ramekins are half submerged in water.
- Bake at 300 F degrees for 40 minutes or until the custard appears set but still jiggles a bit. if your ramekins aren't deep like mine, this will be done in 25-30 minutes.
- Carefully remove the ramekins from the pan and let them cool completely. Once cooled, wrap and chill overnight or for a minimum for 4 hours.
- Once the custard is chilled, take the ramekins out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for around 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle around 1-2 teaspoons of sugar on each dish, making sure it's properly covered with sugar.
- Using your kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar, it will turn hard and crispy. You can also do this step of melting the sugar in the oven, on broil.
- Top with some toasted coconut chips and garnish with a cinnamon stick and serve!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Masala Chai Creme Brulee
I love the recipe!!! but sadly i do not eat eggs. what can i substitute for eggs?
I have not made a creme brulee without eggs so until and unless I try one, I cannot say, sorry
Ener-G Egg replacement. I got mine from Kroger but I believe it’s on Amazon as well.
There’s other egg replacements too (I’ve heard chia eggs as well) but Ener-G was the best one I tried. I made egg-free creme brulee many years ago for a Diwali party and they turned out amazing. You couldn’t even tell the difference.
Love this recipe!!! I’m wondering if I can get your cupcake recipe that you used the egg whites in now that I have all of these egg whites. Lol!
make macarons, so many recipes on the blog 🙂
My hand is raised up high. I could have chai every day. I love this combination. I never would have thought of putting chai and creme brûlée together, but it sounds so decadent!
I’ve so got both hands in the air, Manali! This a great combo and so creative! I love it when an unplanned plan comes together!
Yes, yes, yes. I have raised both my hands and feet for chai and creme brulee as both are that good. But then you combined them together??? My taste buds have now gone into overdrive as I day dream about this amazing combination.
Totally love this masala chai Creme brulee… And yes.. gorgeous clicks too..
Manali, I love this Indian spin on creme brulee!!! love this Masala Chai Creme Brulee!!! so creative, I love it!
Masala chai + creme brulee? Wow! This is a genius idea, Manali. I can imagine the awesome flavors and deliciousness! YUM!
I need more hands to raise, because this is packed with ALL my favorite things! Chai creme brûlée…GENIUS!!
Thanks Kate!
This is seriously the most creative creme brulee I’ve seen in a LONG time, Manali! I love anything that’s chai flavored so this is so up my alley! Looks so gorgeous. 🙂
Thank you Sarah 🙂
Creme brûlée is one of my favourite desserts! I love it sooo much! This looks amazing Manali, and I love the chai flavours. I’ve never tried a chai creme brûlée before, so I can’t wait to make this! Yum!
Thanks Harriet! You should totally try it!
I do love chai and creme brûlée! These are such a stunning dessert and I’m sure absolutely delicious!
Thank you Danielle!
Amazing combo dear. Looks gorgeous and delicious 🙂
Thanks Kushi!
Creme brulee is my all-time favorite dessert, and chai is my favorite drink, so I think this dessert was made for me! This looks gorgeous, Manali! Wish I had this right now!
Thanks Gayle! Wish I could send you some!
Mmm, I just love the idea of sweet, creamy creme brûlée and the flavor of the chai spices! What a genius combination, Manali! I can’t believe you were able to pull out such a delicious recipe after making over a hundred cupcakes either! You are the baking queen!!!
Thanks dear!
I have my hands raised:). Love chai and this recipe. That looks so so pretty and the best part is the impromptu recipe, love it. Your pictures are lovely my dear.
I’ll be stalking few of your posts now. xoxo
Thank you Asha!! Means a lot coming from you! xoxo
Cheers to spontaneous recipes! This creme brulee looks fantastic with this spices and flavors — it’s just beautiful!
thanks Marcie!
Yep, my hand is raised! I can just imagine its stunning flavor! You’ve done it again – so creative, Manali!!
Thank you Annie! 🙂
I’m all about this! Anything that lets me use my kitchen torch wins a couple points, and when it’s something as beautiful as these masala chai creme brulee, I NEED to try it!
I know right, something about using kitchen torch, so awesome! Thanks Rachel!
Both of my hands are definitely raised Manali! This Masala Chai Creme Brulee is Soooo pretty and I love that it’s packed with so much delicious flavor! I could eat my weight in these! Gimme gimme! Cheers, friend!
P.s. 150 mini cupcakes?! Dang, that’s impressive!! 😉
Thanks Cheyanne! Yeah 150 took a while but it was fun! 🙂
How has a restaurant not snapped you up as a pastry chef before now? Seriously. This is so amazing and special. I love it!
haha you are very kind my friend! Thank you!! 🙂
This chai infused creme brulee sounds really amazing!
Thank you Angie!
This surely looks divine and super yum!! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thanks Ruchi!
I really didn’t think there was anything better than masala chai until I saw this creme brulee! Delicious 🙂
Thank you Medha!
This creme brulee sounds wonderful! Love the chai flavors here. I wish I had some now!!
Thank you Jen! I wish I could send you some!
Creme brulee is my favorite dessert! The flavors in this sound amazing! Glad you used coconut cream! Pinning!
Thank you Mira! Coconut really went well here!
This sounds amazing, Manali! I love chai, and I love creme brulee…so I can only imagine how tasty this one was. Like you, I often find myself with leftover egg yolks, and I usually turn them into ice cream. But I might need to do a creme brulee soon instead. Yum! 🙂
Thanks David! Yeah you might want to make creme brulee with the yolks next time!
Love this twist on the classics! (Both my hands are up!) x
haha! Thanks Emma!
This is such a creative creme brulee recipe. My husband just loves creme brulee, it’s his favourite dessert, so he would adore this variation.
Thank you Dannii! 🙂