Friday 12 October 2018

Masala Chai Tiramisu.



Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Guys, Autumn is well and truly here.

The trees are golden, the nights are drawing in, and I have about a tonne of apples to get through.
My favourite time of year is officially here and I could not be more happy. So about those apples. My aunt dropped off a bag of homegrown ones this week and I have been slowly working my way through them. I will post a few recipes in the coming weeks to help you get through your stash too.

Today though we are not baking with apples. In fact we're not really baking at all. We are going to make a Masala Chai Tiramisu which doesn't require the oven at all. Yep, as much as I love the flavour of a classic coffee version, I decided to change things up a little with today's recipe.
My family are big tea drinkers all year round but even more so during the cooler months. Inspired by their tea addiction I finally decided to swap the coffee in my tiramisu for tea. Not just any tea but a spiced tea worthy of any Pakistani tea time.
As with my classic tiramisu, this recipe is fully Halal and also contains no raw eggs. There is nothing wrong with using fresh raw eggs but they forever freak me out and I don't think this clip from Bake Off has helped. 😷
Anyway, this tiramisu is creamy, cakey, and packed with plenty of masala chai flavour. Keep on reading for my full step-by-step photo recipe. Have a great weekend!

Tiramisu, previously: halal and egg free tiramisu // tiramisu nutella cupcakes

A Simple List of Ingredients:

For the Custard Base:
1. Milk
2. Sugar
3. Egg Yolks
4. Plain Flour
5. Butter
6. Vanilla Essence

For the Masala Chai Concentrate:
1. Green Cardamoms
2. Black Peppercorns
3. Cloves
4. Cinnamon Stick
5. Fresh Ginger
6. Water
7. Black Teabags
8. Sugar

To Assemble:
1. Double Cream
2. Vanilla Essence
3. Sugar
4. Mascarpone Cheese
5. Sponge Fingers
6. Cocoa Powder

Bismillah, let's begin!

The first job is to make a custard base. In a deep heavy-bottomed saucepan, measure out 235ml Milk and 60g Sugar. Stir and place over a medium heat. Let it come to a gentle simmer.

You'll know it's ready when bubbles appear at the edge and surface of the milk. Remove from the heat this point.

While the milk is simmering, in a bowl place:
30g Sugar
35ml Milk
3 large Egg Yolks
20g (2 tablespoons) Plain Flour

Whisk the mixture together until smooth.

Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking as you go ...

... until everything is well combined.

Wash the pan and place back onto the cooker. Pour the custard back into the pan.

Cook over a medium-low heat, whisking as you go until the custard thickens. It's done when it coats the back of a spoon.

Pour the thickened custard into a bowl.

Finish by adding in 30g cubed Butter.

And, 2 teaspoons Vanilla Essence.

Whisk the two in and the custard base is done. Now, it needs to cool completely.

Cover the custard with clingfilm, making sure that the clingfilm is touching the actual custard which stops a skin from forming. Chill until fully cold.

Next, let's make the masala chai concentrate. It will be what replaces the usual coffee in our tiramisu and needs to be completely cold before we can use it. 
By the way, feel free to use coffee in this recipe if you're not a tea fan. Simply follow the coffee steps in my original tiramisu recipe!

Place 3 Green Cardamoms, 1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns, and 5 Cloves into a pestle and mortar.

Crush them to break everything open.

Place the crushed spices into a deep saucepan along with 1 Cinnamon Stick and 20g Fresh Ginger, peeled and sliced into rounds.

Toast everything for 3 minutes over medium heat until fragrant.

Pour in 500ml Water.

Stir and bring to the boil over medium-high heat.

Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and gently simmer the spice mixture for 10 minutes.

Add in 3 Black Teabags. Stir them in, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the chai sit for 5 minutes to steep.

Then, give the teabags a good squeeze and take them out of the pan.

Stir in 60g Sugar.

Strain the tea and let it cool completely.

When the custard and chai concentrate are both cold, we can get on with assembling the tiramisu. But first, let's finish off the custard. In a bowl, start by measuring out:
280ml Double Cream
60g Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

Beat with an electric whisk until the cream has stiff peaks.

Next, take your mascarpone cheese out of the fridge. This is the traditional soft cheese used in tiramisu but you can't get hold of it, I'm sure cream cheese would be a good substitute.

Measure out 250g cold Mascarpone Cheese in a bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until creamy.

Add the cold custard to the mascarpone cheese and beat well until combined.

Finally, gently fold the whipped cream into the custard. Our creamy custard is ready!

Finally, all of our ingredients are ready and we can assemble the chai tiramisu. I have my cold chai concentrate in a shallow dish, the creamy custard in a bowl and of course, sponge fingers.

I used 2 x 200g packets Sponge Fingers. I can't say exactly how many you'll need because it really depends on how big your dish is and how cakey you like your tiramisu. Roughly though, you'll need about 30-40 sponge fingers. Plus if you can't buy them where you live, you can easily bake them at home. There is a recipe here!

To assemble the tiramisu, take a large deep serving dish or tin.

Start by dipping both sides of about 15-20 sponge fingers into the cold chai mixture and place in a single layer in the dish. This many sponge fingers results in a cakey tiramisu so reduce them if you prefer a creamier tiramisu.

Spread over half the custard mixture.

Top with another layer of chai dipped sponge fingers.

Dollop on the other half of the custard. I spread some of it and piped on the rest. Chill the tiramisu overnight.

Once the tiramisu has chilled overnight in the fridge, take it out.

Finish it with a good dusting of Cocoa Powder.

The masala chai tiramisu is now ready to serve!

Serve the tiramisu chilled. It'll be a lovely way to end your next special meal.

Masala Chai Tiramisu.

a halal creamy tiramisu with all the chai flavours.

Prep Time: About 1 hour.
Chill Time: Overnight, for best results.
Serves: About 12 people.

Ingredients

For the Custard Base
270ml Milk, divided - see method below
90g Sugar, divided - see method below
3 large Egg Yolks
20g (2 tablespoons) Plain Flour
30g Butter, cut into cubes
2 teaspoons Vanilla Essence

For the Masala Chai Concentrate
3 Green Cardamoms
1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
5 Cloves
1 Cinnamon Stick
20g Fresh Ginger, peeled and sliced into rounds
500ml Water
3 Black Teabags
60g Sugar

To Assemble
280ml Double Cream
60g Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
250g Mascarpone Cheese, cold
2 x 200g packets Sponge Fingers, as needed (about 30-40 fingers)
Cocoa Powder, as needed

Make and chill the custard:
  • Place 235ml milk and 60g sugar into a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Stir and bring to a gentle simmer. Once bubbles appear at the edge of the mixture, remove from the heat.
  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together 30g sugar, 35ml milk, plain flour, and egg yolks until smooth. Gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking as you go.
  • Wash the pan out before pouring the mixture back in. Cook over a medium-low heat, whisking as you go until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
  • Remove from the heat, place into a bowl and whisk in the butter and vanilla essence. Cover with clingfilm making sure that it touches the surface of the custard to avoid forming a skin. Cool completely.
Make the chai concentrate:
  • Crush the peppercorns, cloves, and cardamoms in a pestle and mortar.
  • Place them into a deep saucepan along with the ginger and cinnamon. Toast for 3 minutes over a medium heat until fragrant. Pour in the water and bring to the boil over a medium-high heat. Once boiling, turn down to   medium-low and gently simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Add the teabags. Turn off the heat, cover and let the chai sit for 5 minutes.
  • Squeeze the teabags and remove. Stir in the sugar and let it dissolve. Strain the tea and cool completely.
Finish the custard:
  • Once the custard is cold, place the double cream, sugar and vanilla into a bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until the mixture has stiff peaks.
  • In another bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with an electric whisk until smooth. Add the cold custard and beat together to combine.
  • Finish by gently folding the whipped cream into the custard.
Assemble the tiramisu:
  • Take a large, deep serving dish. Dip both sides of about 15-20 sponge fingers into the cold chai mixture and place in a single layer in the dish. Add half the custard mixture and spread. 
  • Continue with another layer of dipped sponge fingers and finish with the second half of the custard. 
Chill and serve the tiramisu:
  • Cover with clingfilm and chill overnight for a few hours or overnight.
  • Sprinkle cocoa powder over the top of the tiramisu. Slice and serve!
{adapted from cleobuttera and a cozy kitchen}

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your chai tiramisu!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!


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