Heeelllllloooo chai spiced ice cream. Where have you been all of my life? I do have a confession, as much as I want to stand by my warm, frothy spiced chai latte, this chai ice cream is pretty close to the high place I hold it. Although, nothing quite compares to a warm chai on a cold winter day. Oh who am I kidding a warm chai is good any day whether it is a 100 degrees or 0. Wait…did I hear you say your an “iced” chia kind of person? One of those huh? I’ll try not to judge because I did cross that line to create this chai spiced ice cream for my daughter’s birthday, per her request.
Yes, she does have great taste, just like her momma. Although my hubby likes to think it is a bad habit I just think she has a great palate. So we go with it and treat ourselves to a chai every once in a while. So of course I was all about it when she requested chai ice cream for her birthday. Who can deny that? But before we get to this chai ice cream can I just have a sappy mom moment?
You guys, my oldest daughter just turned four. FOUR! How and when did this happen? I feel like it was just yesterday when I first laid eyes on that beautiful, tiny baby girl. It is fun looking back and seeing her personality evolve through the years into this spunky, full of life little girl that has a vocabulary way beyond her years. She brings joy to everyone she encounters and has a smile that could light up a room. I feel privileged to be her mom. She challenges me, pushes me to be a better person and brings a smile to my face daily. We love her to death and can’t wait to see what she learns throughout the coming year!
End sappy, enter reality…
So in honor of her fourth birthday, the hubs and I decided it would be fun to take her to one of her favorite spots, The Children’s Museum. Normally we are on lock-down because, well we have three children under the age of four, thus meaning we are normally just surviving at home let alone going out in public. But after mucho planning (okay not that much) we packed up and set off. Oh minus, the littlest. Who by the way was pretty stoked that she didn’t have to ride in her carseat (because they are like the worst thing ever to a baby) and then have to be held and toted around all day when all she really wants to do is roll around and kick on the floor. Miss independent. Here is the play-by-play of her reaction when we told her she got to stay home with grandma.
I’m pretty sure this is what she is thinking. You have something to tell me? I don’t have to ride in my carseat tomorrow? You have to be kidding? Are you kidding? Your not kidding, are you? WAHOO! An entire day, by myself, getting held, fed without screaming, held some more and doing whatever I want, whenever I want without getting in my carseat. The best day ever!
Excitement I tell you! A win win for everyone involved. It probably wasn’t the best decision to go out after a long halloween eve. Candy, yes, the oldest had a few pieces thanks to her uncle who got plenty of dirty looks from me, a late night and excitement for the following day led to a sugar-high and a sugar-crash followed by a short night. This equates to one very tired, emotional and grouchy four year old. It really is a perfect storm.
The entire way to the museum I kept having flashbacks to the apple orchard experience. We just can’t seem to ever pull it all together. I like to tell myself we are just working to maintain “that family” status. You know the one no one wants to sit by at a restaurant, can’t imagine flying in a plane with or how about be neighbors at a hotel. Okay, lucky for you all, we have absolutely NO plans to travel via airplanes or stay in hotels anytime soon. You can now book your ticket and room. It is safe.
We will stick to day trips as we can barely make it through those. I mean, there were only two major floor laying, kicking, screaming melt-downs by our middle daughter and one crying dad-dragging her by her arm meltdown by the four year old. Is that considered a success? Maybe success at this stage means going and returning all in one piece?
We did just that, we returned, sanity in tact (which is getting easier as we just swallow this is who we are). I must say it was nice to return home knowing that this chai ice cream was ready to go into the ice cream maker. It was just what we all needed to cool off from the perfect family day –>COUGH, COUGH<–
Chai + Ice Cream = The best of both worlds. For those few short minutes of spooning this creamy goodness into my mouth I really feel like life is perfect, or perfect as we know it in an imperfect sort of way. We’ll just chalk all of this up to creating memories.
Oh, don’t forget the salted caramel sauce. It is the icing on the cake.
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 4 black tea bags
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¾ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp cardamon
- ¼ tsp allspice
- pinch of salt
- ¼ cup boiling water
- 1 Tbsp Gelatin
- Place ice cream maker bowel in the freezer 1 day in advance.
- In a large pot, heat all ingredients except boiling water and gelatin over medium heat until boiling.
- Once boiling reduce to a simmer and let simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Place in refrigerator overnight.
- When ready to make, boil ¼ cup water and slowly add gelatin.
- Add this to the ice cream mix, stirring to combine.
- Remove ice cream bowl from freezer, add ice cream mix with gelatin.
- Turn on and run for 20-25 minutes or until ice cream has formed.
- Spoon out and enjoy topped with this Coconut Milk Caramel Sauce.
