Go Back
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Creamy Chai Cheesecake

The combination of chai and creamy cheesecake is dynamite! The bitterness and aromatic flavors of the chai tea pair so wonderfully with the cheesecake. It's one of those combinations you just have to try yourself.
Author: Zoë François

Ingredients

Chai Cream

  • 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
  • 1 ½ tablespoons loose Darjeeling Tea or Earl Grey tea
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 8 green cardamon pods
  • 8 whole cloves
  • 1 1 ½ inch piece fresh peeled ginger cut into chunks
  • 8 peppercorns
  • ½ vanilla bean scraped

Cheesecake

  • 1 ½ pounds cream cheese softened
  • 1 cup crème fraîche
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup chai heavy cream from above

Instructions

Chai Cream

  • Pound the whole green cardamon pods in a Mortar and Pestle just to crack the pod and reveal the seeds.
  • Put the cream, tea and spices into a sauce pot and heat very slowly. Once the cream comes to a simmer turn off the heat and allow to steep for 20 minutes, or
  • transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight. The longer you allow the spices and tea to steep in the cream the more intense the flavor your cheese cake will have.

Cheesecake

  • Preheat the oven to 300º
  • Beat the cream cheese on slow in your Stand Mixers until smooth, scrape the bowl down with a rubber spatula. Add the crème fraîche and mix until smooth, scrape the bowl down. Add the sugar and mix until smooth, scrape the bowl down.
  • Add the yolks two at a time and scrape the bowl after each addition.
  • Strain the chai cream over the cheese cake mixture and then mix until incorporated. Divide the cheesecake batter into 12 4-ounce Ramekin.
  • Set the ramekins into a roasting pan lined with a towel and fill the pan with hot water, to create a water bath. The water should come up about half way up the sides of the ramekins. Tent the pan with foil, cutting vents for the condensation to escape.
  • Bake for about 20-30 minutes depending on the shape of your ramekins. The cheesecake will puff just very slightly and no longer look wet on the surface.
  • Allow the cheesecake to sit in the waterbath until they are no longer too hot to handle with bare hands. This will prevent them from cracking. Let them sit on a cooling rack until room temperature and then cover and transfer to refrigerator. Allow to cool for at least an hour before serving. They can be done a day or two ahead. Serve with the macerated plums and a dollop of crème fraîche.