chocolate chai custard
Oct. 30th, 2011 08:40 pmBookmark for future reference.
Working notes:
This is an almost suspiciously easy recipe, esp. if the first step is transposed to microwaving a glass measuring cup. I was worried about the non-uniform chocolate dispersal, since it doesn't fully disssolve into the aqueous chai concentrate to begin with, and then solidifies into lots of small granules when added to the milk. The granules also sink to the bottom of the milk mixture and subsequent egg batter, and need to be vigorously stirred/scraped when transferred.
However, when actually baked and cooled, most of the chocolate rises to the top to create a firm dark layer on top, almost like a creme brulee except with a somewhat spongier, more aerated texture. It is tasty.
The actual custard layer has limited residual chocolate content, but I'm thinking of tweaking that by adding some cocoa powder to the first step. At least after we finish this initial batch of six servings-- I made a 1.5x upscaled batch, and also used ~2 oz of unsweetened chocolate instead of 1.5 oz because of the limitations of my kitchen scale.
It's also pleasantly not-too-sweet, at least when made with our homebrew chai concentrate. I've been making the latter with only about half as much sugar compared to commercial chai syrups, at least in proportion to the quantities of tea and spices-- conversely, I've been using less water to end up with a more concentrated concentrate in the interest of minimizing the fridge storage footprint.
Working notes:
This is an almost suspiciously easy recipe, esp. if the first step is transposed to microwaving a glass measuring cup. I was worried about the non-uniform chocolate dispersal, since it doesn't fully disssolve into the aqueous chai concentrate to begin with, and then solidifies into lots of small granules when added to the milk. The granules also sink to the bottom of the milk mixture and subsequent egg batter, and need to be vigorously stirred/scraped when transferred.
However, when actually baked and cooled, most of the chocolate rises to the top to create a firm dark layer on top, almost like a creme brulee except with a somewhat spongier, more aerated texture. It is tasty.
The actual custard layer has limited residual chocolate content, but I'm thinking of tweaking that by adding some cocoa powder to the first step. At least after we finish this initial batch of six servings-- I made a 1.5x upscaled batch, and also used ~2 oz of unsweetened chocolate instead of 1.5 oz because of the limitations of my kitchen scale.
It's also pleasantly not-too-sweet, at least when made with our homebrew chai concentrate. I've been making the latter with only about half as much sugar compared to commercial chai syrups, at least in proportion to the quantities of tea and spices-- conversely, I've been using less water to end up with a more concentrated concentrate in the interest of minimizing the fridge storage footprint.