Thai Tea Ice Cream (Without an Ice Cream Maker)

One of the fabulous winners of our Instagram summer recipe contest, @jensfoodlab brings you a delicious and refreshing summer treat. Check out her recipe here! 

THAI TEA ICE CREAM (WITHOUT AN ICE CREAM MAKER)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream 
• 1/4 cup Thai tea leaves
  • I used loose leaf Thai tea here, but you can actually substitute this with the tea of your choice, like Earl Grey, matcha, jasmine, etc. If you’re using loose leaf tea, use 3-4 tablespoons. If you’re using tea bags, use 2-3 tea bags.
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (or more or less to taste)
• A pinch of salt

Instructions

1. First, let’s infuse the heavy cream with the Thai tea flavor. In a small saucepan, add  the heavy cream and bring it to a simmer on medium heat. 
2. Add Thai tea leaves and stir on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir until everything is evenly combined.  Then, strain the Thai tea leaves out. 
3. Chill the infused heavy cream in the freezer until it’s cold to the touch. 
4. Once the infused heavy cream has chilled, whisk until you get soft-medium peaks. For me, this is about 8-10 minutes when hand whisking, but this varies depending on technique (just make sure you look for those soft-medium peaks). You can also use a stand mixer as well. 
5. Add sweetened condensed milk and salt. Whisk again until you get soft-medium peaks, about another 5-7 minutes. 
6. At this stage, feel free to taste test the mixture to see if the sweetness level is to your liking. It should be pretty creamy at this point.
7. Place in the freezer for about a 1-2 hours, or ideally overnight. Now, you’re done!

Thai Tea Ice Cream (Without an Ice Cream Maker) is definitely a super fun dessert that you can easily make with a few ingredients and a whisk! I love the classic Thai iced tea that reminds me of being in Southeast Asia, where it’s served as a nice refreshing drink that balances out their hot summers. Also, who doesn’t love ice cream, so I figured I’d combine both together. Besides consuming it straight out of the bowl I made it in, the best part is that this recipe doesn’t even require an ice cream maker, which makes this a staple in my freezer. Also, be creative with your tea flavors, since this recipe is so versatile. Let me know if you try out this homemade ice cream recipe in the comments below!