Dessert: Chai Pots de Crème

These creamy custards feature the flavors of chai, a spiced tea that's enhanced with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and ginger.

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Cinnamon

Health benefits of Chai Pots de Crème

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060).

Ingredients

1 cup whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon loose English Breakfast tea or Jasmine tea
1 cinnamon stick
8 whole cardamom pods
6 whole cloves
3 1/4-inch-thick rounds of peeled fresh ginger
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated orange peel

Instructions

Combine first 7 ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Remove from heat; cover and let steep 15 minutes to develop flavor.
Preheat oven to 325 °F. Place six 3/4-cup custard cups or ramekins in 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Pour cream mixture through fine strainer into medium bowl. Discard solids in strainer.
Whisk egg yolks, brown sugar, and orange peel in 4-cup measuring cup to blend well. Gradually whisk in cream mixture. Pour custard into custard cups, dividing equally (cups will not be full). Pour enough hot water into baking pan to come halfway up sides of custard cups. Cover baking pan with foil. Pierce foil in several places with skewer to allow steam to escape.
Bake custards until softly set (centers will move slightly when cups are shaken gently), about 30 minutes. Remove custards from water. Cool on rack. Chill until cold, about 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; keep chilled.)