Chai Recipes

Per Kaolin Fire‘s request, I will be compiling a list of some of my favourite chai recipes. I’ll be adding them as I have time and as experiments happen.

Chai Milkshake

In a blender, combine:

  • 1 cup of milk
  • 2 cups of vanilla ice cream
  • 2 to 4 oz of chai concentrate
  • I also add 1 oz of Cold Brewed coffee espresso strength

Blend until smooth in consistency. I prefer skim milk only because whole ends up making a very heavy shake.

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Dirty Soy Chai

(at Cup O’Karma)

  • 1 – 2 oz. Cold Brew Coffee (“Toddy”) or Espresso (per availability)
  • 4 oz. Maya chai concentrate
  • 15 oz. soy milk

Combine Toddy and Maya chai concentrate in 20 oz. cup. Set aside. Steam soy milk to 170 – 180* degrees. Combine soy into cup and stir. Garnish with whipped cream and nutmeg.
*Room temperature chai and cold toddy will bring the temperature down to 160, so steam only to 170 if using hot espresso.

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The Pioneer Woman’s “Amazing Spiced Chai Concentrate”

(submitted to me by Eva Kenworthy)

  • 4-½ cups Water
  • 1 stick Cinnamon
  • 1 piece Fresh Ginger Chopped
  • 7 whole Cardamom Pods
  • 2 whole Star Anise Pods
  • 10 whole Cloves
  • ¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
  • ½ teaspoons Freshly-ground Nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon Orange Zest
  • 10 teaspoons Green Or Black Tea Or 10 Tea Bags
  • ⅔ cups Brown Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Honey
  • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Bring the water to a boil. Add the spices and tea, remove from heat and let steep 15-20 minutes, depending on how strong you want it. Strain and add the brown sugar, honey, and vanilla. Stir to combine.

Mix 1 part concentrate with 1 part milk, heat and enjoy or pour over ice.

For a stronger flavor, mix 2 parts concentrate with 1 part milk or half-and-half.

Barista Rosa’s Chocolate Chai

(Starbucks size Grande – 16oz)

  • 4 pumps chai
  • 1/2 pump mocha
  • 1 pump vanilla
  • 1/4 pump hazelnut

Add milk of choice, ice, stir, and enjoy! Tastes like Ferrero Rocher candies. Also good with whip cream.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte

(Pumpkin chai. Yeah.. That’s it..) Submitted by L

  • 2 cups milk of choice
  • 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
  • 1-3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix
  • 1/2 cup strong coffee
  • Whipped cream

Add milk, pumpkin and sugar to a sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring until hot and sugar is dissolved. Do not boil.

Remove from heat. Add vanilla, pumpkin pie spice mix and coffee.

Pour into 2 mugs (or 1 very large one) and garnish with whipped cream and more pumpkin pie spice.

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How to Make [the best] Chai [ever]

(Submitted by Sica Bishop)

Prep: Cook: Yield: 1 eight oz serving of chai, makes about 3 cups of masala

Delicious, authentic chai, passed down from [her] great-great grandmother. Spicy and sweet and absolutely wonderful!

You’ll Need…

For the chai:

  • 1/2 cup milk (not skim milk, see nerdy science note above)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 to 2 tsp. sugar, or your favorite sweetener
  • 1 tsp. loose tea leaves
  • 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. chai masala depending on your spice preference, see recipe below

For the chai masala:
**Please see additional notes below before proceeding regarding the total amount to make as well as the amount of black pepper**

  • 160 g. whole black peppercorn (or finely ground, same weight. Volume: 1 cup + 7 Tbsp)
  • 125 g. whole dried ginger or ginger powder (Volume: 1 cup + 8 Tbsp)
  • 50 g. cinnamon sticks (or finely ground, same weight. Volume: 1/4 cup + 2 1/2 Tbsp)
  • 50 g. whole cardamom seeds (or finely ground, same weight. Volume: 1/2 cup + 1/2 Tbsp)
  • 5 g. whole cloves (or finely ground, same weight. Volume: 1 Tbsp)
  • 5 g. nutmeg (or finely ground, same weight. Volume: 1 Tbsp)

Directions

For the chai:

  • Pour all ingredients into a (preferably spouted) saucepan. Place over medium heat. Allow to heat until small bubbles appear around the perimeter of the milk. Stir the chai, scraping the bottom to avoid scalding the milk. When the milk comes to a boil, turn off the heat and stir well. Bring to a boil once again, turn off the heat and stir well. Allow to steep for a few minutes. Strain carefully into a cup, and serve.

For the chai masala:

  • If you are using whole spices, weigh out the appropriate amount, place in spice grinder and grind into a fine powder. Mix all the spices together, store in an airtight jar in a cool, dry part of your kitchen. Do not expose to too much sunlight.

Additional Notes

The recipe was passed down in grams, I’ve tried to convert it into conventional measurements, but please be aware that the conventional measurements are of the finely ground not the whole spices. Please note, you will get best results if you weigh the spices, it’s most accurate.

The masala recipe makes a LOT of masala. Feel free to make 1/5 of the recipe, that’s the easiest number to divide if you have an accurate scale.

Some have said that the recipe is a bit spicy for them. For those of you who are finding the recipe a bit too spicy, feel free to decrease the black pepper. Perhaps start by cutting the amount in half (80g) and then making a cup, if you can think you can tolerate more black pepper start adding in 10 additional grams of black pepper until you get to your perfect spice level!

Do you have extra chai masala on hand? Here are some recipes to help you use it up:
Chai Cupcakes with Lemongrass-Mint Whipped Cream
Spiced Chai Pumpkin Pie
Chai Spiced Granola
Chai with Ginger, Lemongrass, and Mint
Chai Sweet Potato Pie with Vanilla Cardamom Meringue

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The Dirty Chai Nightcap

(Submitted by Sica Bishop, created By: Sherrie Castellano | With Food + Love)

prep time: 1 min, make time: 5 mins, total time: 6 mins

[Her] favorite chai is from Big Heart Tea Co. In lieu of 4 tea bags and 1 cup of water, [she] steeps 5 grams in 10 ounces of water. Vodka works well because it allows the spices of the chai to shine. Bourbon would also be a good pick if you wanted to change it up a little bit. [She] used Silk’s organic unsweetened soy milk, but any unsweetened plant-based milk will do {almond, coconut, hemp, etc.}.

Makes: 4 cocktails
Ingredients

  • 4 chai tea bags {see notes}
  • 1 cup filtered water
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 ounces espresso
  • 1 cup plant-based milk
  • 4 ounces vodka
  • handful ice
  • star anise, garnish

Instructions

  • Heat the water to almost boiling and steep the tea for 4 minutes. Discard the tea bags {or loose tea} and add in the maple syrup. Stir to combine, and set to the side to cool.
  • Meanwhile make 2 ounces of espresso. Set that aside to cool.
  • Combine in a shaker the cooled chai and espresso, milk, vodka and ice.
  • Strain into 4 martini glasses, and garnish with star anise.
  • Enjoy responsibly!

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Chai Spiced Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts

(Submitted by Sica Bishop)

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Yield: about 24 depending on size

Ingredients

Pastry:

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 6 tablespoons lard, coconut oil, or vegetable shortening
  • 3/4 cup ice cold butter, cubed
  • 1/2 cup ice cold water

Filling:

  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon all spice

Icing:

  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

Pastry:

  • Combine flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of food processor and pulse.
  • Add butter and lard and pulse a few times more until crumbly.
  • Add water and process until the dough comes together, adding more water if necessary.
  • Roll pastry dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle roughly 1/8 inch thick. Cut into smaller rectangles, about 3 by 5 inch pieces.

Filling:

  • Whisk egg and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add remaining ingredients for filling and stir until smooth. Spoon a few teaspoons of filling onto centers of half the rectangles you’ve cut.
  • Spread filling to within 1/2 inch from edges and rub edges with water.
  • Place the other half of the pieces on top of fillings and use a fork to crimp the ends.
  • Place on a parchment lined baking tray about 1/4 inch apart and place tray in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). When oven is ready, remove trays from fridge and bake for 10 – 15 minutes until edges are golden.
  • Remove and cool completely before icing.

Icing:

  • Mix all ingredients for icing in a small bowl until smooth and use a spoon or knife to spread on cooled tarts.
  • Allow to dry (for about 1 hour) before serving.

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