Last week I was quickly approaching the breaking point. I was exhausted, I had a very bad head cold, and I was out at the end of my driveway with a steel garden shovel, breaking up a mound of slush-turned-pure-ice kindly left at there by the town snow plows. I was out there in my pajamas, rushing so I could get the kids to school on time, cursing the skies all the while, and I knew I needed to channel this energy into something delicious. Something sweet, that would conjure up images of warm climates and palm trees swaying in the breeze. Something with exotic spices, that would take me far, far away from this frozen hell at the first bite.
Chai tea is such a gorgeous invention. The combination of cardamom, cinnamon and ginger with a sweetened black tea is nothing short of brilliant. I’ve recently seen some cupcakes and other desserts flavoured with chai spices, and it got me thinking about how to incorporate them into something low carb. Custards and puddings are easy to make low carb because they require no flour or flour substitutes. And one of my favourite desserts of all time is creme brulee. As fancy as it seems, it’s remarkably easy to make, particularly if you have one of the small kitchen butane torches to caramelize the topping. I was given one a few years ago and haven’t used it much, and this was my chance to put it to work. I infused the cream with black tea and chai spices, and away we went.
The Results: Chai tea and creme brulee are a match made in heaven. Honestly, why have I never put these two together before? Creme brulee is always a wonderful treat and can be flavoured in so many ways. And I was impressed with how the erythritol worked as a topping in place of sugar. It didn’t get quite as hard as a burnt sugar topping would, but it caramelized nicely and gave that satisfying bit of crunch to every bit.
Chai Tea Creme Brulee
1 ¾ cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon loose black tea
1 cinnamon stick (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
1 teaspoon coarsely ground cardamom seeds
½ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
4 egg yolks
3 tablespoon granulated erythritol
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
12 drops stevia extract
Preheat oven to 300F.
Heat cream, tea, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and cloves in a small saucepan over medium low heat, until steam rises. Remove from heat, cover the pan and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer to remove all solids and set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of erythritol together until thickened and pale yellow. Add cream very slowly, stirring continuously. Add vanilla and stevia extracts.
Divide custard between 6 small ramekins (or a single one-quart ceramic or glass baking dish). Set into a larger baking pan and pour hot water to within 1-inch from top of ramekins or baking dish.
Bake until the custard is just set but still slightly wobbly in the middle, 40-45 minutes. Remove baking pan from the oven and let cool. Then wrap each ramekin tightly in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
Just before serving, divide remaining erythritol between ramekins, sprinkling across the top evenly. Heat with a kitchen torch until it bubbles and browns. Let sit for a few minutes to allow topping to harden. You can also brown the topping under your broiler, watching very carefully and turning the cups to ensure even browning.
Serves 6. Each serving has a total of 7.7g of carbs, but only 1.7g if you subtract erythritol.
Sue says
Husband gifted me a torch and ramekins, so I was obliged to make Creme Brulee. Love this recipe with the infusion of Chai Tea. Brilliant! They turned out beautifully. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Katie says
Made this today! Absolutely perfect. Creamy, smooth, lots of flavor. I had 12 yolks to use so I tripled the recipe and baked it in a large ceramic casserole, now we have dessert for the whole week! Great recipe,thank you. We will definitely be making this again
sean says
we certainly need a sweet dessert after our dinner and this dessert looks so yummy.
Fun Foody says
I really loved this one. I tried but failed to make the way you made.
Rachel says
Man I love this stuff! I’m afraid to make it though. Ya, I’m sad.
holly says
This looks really good, but why do low-carb recipes use Swerve (erythritol)? It has just as many carbs as sugar!
Carolyn says
It may, seemingly, but in reality it does not. Because the carbs in erythritol are non-effective. They never enter the blood stream and get excreted whole into the urine without ever registering an insulin response. I test my blood sugar because of pre-diabetes and Swerve barely registers on my glucometer.
susan says
chai tea is a fabulous invention – amen, sista! the next time I have yolks I am so making this. i would have never thought outside of the box to come up with something like this! love it!
Carolyn says
Tigerpaws – I am not sure how well Truvia would work. It does have erythritol in it, but it also has stevia and I don't know how stevia reacts to heat. You could always try one, and then scrape off the topping if it didn't pan out!
Foodiva says
This chai creme brûlée is a healthier version of my favorite dessert, so I definitely will have no qualms inhaling a few of these…haha. Wonderful creation, as always, Carolyn!
Mary says
OK, this looks sooooo good! I want to take a spoon and eat ALL the topping 🙂 xo
Joanne says
THIS LOOKS AWESOME. I LOVE putting tea in various desserts. It's such a great flavoring!