Chai Masala Spiced White Chocolate Crème Brulee

When you break into that sugar crust to a creamy custard-y crème brulee with an incredibly smooth white chocolate base laced with chai masala / chai spice, trust me, there is no other place you want to be other than eating this Chai Masala Spiced White Chocolate Crème Brulee.

If you asked me to pick one thing for dessert – okay, just one will be difficult – let’s say if I were to pick my top three favorite desserts I will have to go with White Chocolate Raspberry cheesecake/cupcake, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Sea Salt and the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. Next in line will me Talenti’s Salted Caramel Gelato, Carrot Halwa, Black Forest Cake, Boston Cream Pie, my Orange Mocha Pudding Pots, Nigella’s Caramel Croissant Pudding, Trophy Cupcake’s Vanilla on Vanilla cupcakes, Tiramisu and so on. Yes, you get it right? I have a sweet tooth! Surprise! But did you notice that crème brulee did not feature in this list. Nor did caramel flan or a vanilla panna cotta. I never really liked the monotonous vanilla milk flavor. I always wanted something more than just that.

I have always wanted to make crème brulee though but I never wanted to spend all that time making it if I was not going to enjoy it that much. I thought hard and tried to mix in some of my favorite flavors in a classic crème brulee recipe. I love chocolate, especially white chocolate in desserts and I am a spice girl. So I tried to combine the white chocolate flavor and some chai masala (spice) flavor to this crème brulee. Topped it with some raspberries and more white chocolate to give it that white chocolate raspberry flavor profile. I have to say it was a pretty good success and I would be making some more pretty soon.

Here is how you go about making it:

Simmer some cream on low heat and add the white chocolate to it and switch off the heat. Mix the white chocolate well.

Beat the egg yolks with sugar, add vanilla and chai masala powder. Beat well. Now slowly incorporate the cream to this egg mixture.

Pour into ramekins and bake in a water bath. Once done, chill well. Sprinkle some sugar over it and broil in the oven till sugar is caramelized. Top with raspberries and shaved white chocolate and serve chilled.

Chai Masala Spiced White Chocolate Crème Brulee – The Recipe

Ingredients:

Heavy Cream - 1 pint (about 2 ½ cups)
Egg Yolks - 4
White Chocolate Chips - 2 oz
Granulated Sugar - ½ cup
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Powdered Chai Masala - ½ tsp
Granulated Sugar - 5-6 tsp
Raspberries and white chocolate shavings for garnish (optional)

Method:

Simmer the cream in a pan over low heat. Add the white chocolate to it and remove from heat. Mix in the white chocolate well.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with sugar. Add the vanilla and chai masala and mix well.
Add a little of the cream to the egg mixture while still whisking. Repeat this a few times to slowly get the eggs to a higher temperature without cooking/scrambling them.
Add the remaining cream, while still whisking the eggs. Mix well.
Pour into ramekins.
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Pour about an inch of water in a baking tray and place the ramekins in them.
Bake for 45-50 mins till the top layer of the brulee is a little firm.
Chill the ramekins for a few hours.
Sprinkle sugar over the crème brulee and put it in the oven in broil mode till the sugar is caramelized.
Decorate with raspberries or any other berries and white chocolate shavings.
Chill well before serving.

And that was all that was left of it after the photo shoot!