Thai Tea Ice Cream
Prep: 10 Minutes | Cook: 20 Minutes | Steeping Time: 12 Hours
Churning Time: 20-30 Minutes | Hardening Time: 4 Hours
Total: 17 Hours
Makes 1 Pint
Ingredients
Ice Cream Base
1 c Whole Milk
2 c Heavy Cream
3/4 c Sugar
1/2 c Thai Tea Leaves
Note: This recipe uses a churning ice cream machine. If you don’t have a churning ice cream machine, I have not tested this as a no-churn recipe.
Recipe Summary
Make the ice cream base
Add thai tea leaves to base. Allow tea leaves to cold steep in the ice cream base for 12 hours
Strain tea leaves and churn ice cream using the instructions of your ice cream maker
Recipe
In a pot add milk, heavy cream, and sugar. Bring to a rolling boil while stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar is fully dissolved to create the ice cream base.
Transfer the ice cream base to a sealable container. Add Thai tea leaves to the ice cream base and stir. Cover and allow to sit for 12 hours to cold steep.
Pre chill your ice cream maker (if using a compressor machine pre-chill it, if using a cannister style make sure it is pre frozen). Once the ice cream maker is fully chilled, strain the tea leaves and transfer the Thai tea ice cream base to the machine. Churn until it is the desired consistency.
For a softer ice cream, serve immediately
For a more traditional ice cream texture, transfer to a container and freeze overnight (or at least 4 hours) to harden.
Why the Recipe Works
Thai tea ice cream is a beautiful orange color that matches it’s beverage counterpart. While that orange color doesn’t physically add to the taste of the ice cream, it does mentally affect the flavors you associate it with. The orange color enhances the bright and floral flavors of thai tea.
Cold steeping the Thai tea leaves brings out flavors in the tea that aren’t as prevalent when steeping it in water. When interacting directly with the tea leaves, the fat molecules in the ice cream base bring out flavors that are not extracted when steeping in water. Steeping in the ice cream base brings out additional subtle notes of vanilla and florals which make the ice cream taste slightly different than Thai tea itself.
Cold steeping is the process of steeping ingredients in cold liquid instead of boiling liquid. A well known process of cold steeping is making cold brew coffee. By prolonging the steeping process in a colder environment, more flavors can be extracted from the substance being steeped and bring out more nuanced flavors. Cold steeping does take longer and requires more patience than a traditional steep, but the process is mostly hands-off once the cold steep is setup.
Ice Cream Composition
Ice cream composition is a huge factor into the overall texture of the ice cream. Future posts will delve into the science behind the ratios and how the ingredient composition affects the end product
MSNF = Milk Solids non-fat
MSNF = Milk Solids non-fat
MSNF = Milk Solids non-fat