A few months ago I was talking about how growing up we’d get Thai in an outdoor strip mall and I would order too salty garlic shrimp and too sugary Thai iced tea. I would down multiple milky orange delights before the meal even began, until my mom realized the caffeine levels and cut me off. Here it is in a still sweet (but less sweet) and still caffeinated (this would be a top notch tea Affogato…) treat.
Disclaimer: A quart of ice cream is like a light, weeknight dessert and lasts about a day in my presence. Most homemade ice cream recipes are written for just 1 quart and yes, that's for a few reasons. But. If you're going through the process of making ice cream, it’s a lot of work to yield you only so many scoops. If you love enough to own a machine and make it from scratch, make more than a quart at a time! And if you live in a small apartment and love ice cream, I feel you and maybe you could spare inches elsewhere and get a little 2 quart-er! Or come over and use mine so we can eat your ice cream together. If you don't want to buy an ice cream maker, you can still make this ice cream! Just look up tips w/o a machine.
Makes 2 quarts
PARTS
— 2 cups heavy cream
— 4 cups whole milk
— 1/2 teaspoon salt
— 1 cup loose Thai tea leaves
— 4 egg yolks, whisked together
— 1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
CLUES
1. Combine heavy cream, milk, salt and thai tea in a medium pot. Heat, stirring occasionally, until almost simmering. Remove from heat and let steep for about 12 minutes (time this, as tea gets bitter when it steeps for too long).
2. Using a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag, strain the mixture into a large bowl to remove tea leaves. Wipe the pot clean.
3. To make the custard, add the strained mixture back into the clean pot, and bring to a gentle simmer. While whisking constantly, add the egg yolks. Then add the condensed milk and whisk until it thickens and feels homogenous, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Remove the custard from heat and let it come to room temp. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions.