Cinnamon Chai Cream Pie

I recently came across this recipe while drooling over various food blogs. As a person of Pakistani descent, I thought chai-infused cream sounded familiar and warming. And since I've never made pudding from scratch before, I knew I had to try this.

I ran into a problem though: I didn't have one of the most crucial ingredients: chai concentrate. But after a quick Google search ("how to make chai concentrate") I made some of my own :)

It's the best thing ever- now when my parents want to drink chai all I have to do is mix this concentrate into steamed milk! So easy and mess-free. Plus, the spicy goodness makes the tummy happy.

Here's what I used to make the chai concentrate (recipe at the bottom):

Boil water. Add all the spices, remove from heat and steep for 15-20 minutes.

Strain the mixture to remove solids.

Pour into a jar...

Done! Now let the concentrate cool while you work on making the pie :)

Cinnamon Chai Cream Pie

from Sprinkled with Flour

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and finely chopped
3/4 cup graham crackers, crushed
3 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp butter, melted

For the Cinnamon Pudding:

3 tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup brown sugar (or turbinado sugar)
3 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten and in a medium bowl
1/2 teas cinnamon
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 teas pure vanilla extract

For the Homemade Chai Concentrate

4-½ cups Water
2 sticks Cinnamon
1 piece Fresh Ginger Chopped
8whole Cardamom Pods
3 Star Anise Pods
10 whole Cloves
¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
½ teaspoons Freshly-ground Nutmeg (I didn't have this)
1 teaspoon Orange Zest
10 teaspoons Black Tea or 10 Tea Bags
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Honey

For the Chai Whipped Cream:

1 Cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
3/4 cup Chai liquid concentrate (sweetened), chilled

-----------CRUST------------

Place nuts on a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F, checking often. Remove from oven and allow to cool and remove the skins from the walnuts. Finely chop the walnuts and almonds.

Crush the crackers with a rolling pin like so:

Add brown sugar and butter, mix. Then spread mixture into a springform pan and bake for 12 minutes. Let cool.

------------PUDDING------------

Mix the brown sugar and cornstarch in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes then remove from heat.

Add cinnamon and stir.

Remove from heat. Add one cup of the pudding mixture into the bowl of beaten egg, mix well. Pour the egg mixture back into the milk mixture in the saucepan.

Cook the pudding until almost bubbly, but don’t allow to boil. Reduce heat and cook for 2 more minutes, then remove from heat. Add the butter and vanilla, and stir. Pour the pudding mixture into the cooled crust. Freeze.