CHAI CHOCOLATE CUSTARD WITH GINGER CREAM

Chai Chocolate Custard with Ginger Cream image

Provided by Food Network

Time 1h5m

Number Of Ingredients 17

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4 whole cloves
4 green cardamom
1 stick cinnamon
1/2-ounce dry whole ginger
3 black peppercorns
16 ounces heavy cream
10 ounces milk
3 ounces sugar
7 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2-ounce Darjeeling tea
7 egg yolks
6 ounces heavy cream
3 ounces milk
1 1/2 ounces sugar
3/4 tablespoon whole dried ground ginger
1 sheet gelatin
Pinch of salt

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Combine all spices and place in a mortar. Using the pestle, crush them. Set aside. In a medium saucepot, combine the heavy cream, milk, and sugar. Bring to a scald. Pull from heat. Add the crushed spices and allow to infuse for about 10 minutes. Add the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. At this time mixture should be heated slightly, the tea added and infused for 10 minutes. After the infusing process, add a small amount of warm mixture the yolks and temper. Add entire yolk mixture back to the custard, stir. At this point the entire mixture should be passed through a chinois. Pour custard base into desired ovenproof dishes. Fill about 2/3 full allowing room for the ginger cream. Bake in a water bath just until set. Allow the custard to sit at room temperature to cool for about 30 minutes. Chill.
For the Ginger Cream: Combine heavy cream, milk and sugar. Bring to a scald. Pull from the flame. Add ground ginger and allow to infuse for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, presoak a gelatin leaf in cool water. Pass milk mixture through a chinois. Add gelatin and stir until dissolved. Cool mixture in ice bath while stirring. Just before it sets, pour ginger cream over the top of the baked chocolate custard. The top should be smooth and just the white should be showing. Chill and allow the Ginger Cream to set.