Rich, creamy and spicy Portuguese tarts with Ceylon Chai. The double dosage of spices makes this a great pairing with Ceylon Black tea.
Ingredients
For the creme brulee:
560ml double cream
4 of our Ceylon Chai tea bags
50g fresh ginger, finely chopped
4 large Ceylon cinnamon sticks, broken into small bits
10 cardamon pods, cracked
10 black peppercorns
10 cloves
1/2 nutmeg, grated
65g caster sugar and some extra for caramelising
165g egg yolks
Flaky pastry – a few well made sheets from the supermarkets
Method
In a thick bottomed saucepan, pour the double cream, tea bags and all of the spices. Gently simmer and bring to a soft boil and leave to cool. Once cool, cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
Preheat the oven to 200°/180° C the next day.
Gently reheat the cream and spices and strain out the spices and tea bags. Place the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until light and gradually add the cream in small amounts.
When all the cream has been whisked in, set the bowl over a gently simmering pan with water and whisk until the custard is cooked.
Remove and leave to cool.
Cut out circles from the bought pastry sheets and place in tart tins. Blind bake the tart cases in tart tins for 20 minutes, remove the baking beans and bake for a further 8-10 minutes.
Once the tart cases are cooked and cooled spoon in the Ceylon Chai creme brulee. Sprinkle some sugar and using blow touch, caramelize the tops until quite dark.
Pair with a good Ceylon Black tea like Ms Black.
