Chai French Toast, Made with the Chai Spice Pack

Chai French toast — this one you have to try at least once.

Brew the tea too long and the astringency of the leaves steps forward, hiding the spices behind it. So the brewing follows "How to brew 500 ml of hot chai" exactly — same amounts, same timing.

The only change is that the strained chai goes straight into the egg mixture. No milk is added afterwards, so everything the bread soaks up is chai. The sweet aromas of cardamom and cassia marry beautifully with the scent of butter after cooking.

Only seven minutes over the heat.

For a slightly special morning, why not prepare it the night before?

Total time: about 20 min

On top of this, the bread needs 3 hours to soak in the egg mixture.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• Chai Spice Pack: 1 pack
• 1 baguette (8 slices)
• 3 eggs
• Milk (soy or oat milk also works): 300 ml
• Water: 250 ml
• Sugar (dark cane sugar recommended): 2 tbsp
• Butter: 20 g
• To make it richer
  • Heavy cream: 100 ml (optional)
  • Nuts: 20 g (optional)

Preparation

1. Open the Chai Spice Pack and cut the cardamom pods lengthwise with scissors.
2. Cut the baguette into 4 cm rounds to make 8 slices.
3. If topping with nuts, chop them roughly and dry-toast them in a frying pan.
4. Have a shallow tray or a zip-top bag ready.

Instructions

1. Put the water (250 ml) in a pot.
2. Add the cassia, the cardamom (cut lengthwise) and the tea leaves to the water, then bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Once boiling, reduce to the lowest heat and brew for 2 minutes 30 seconds. Kept at a rolling boil, the leaves turn bitter — hold it at the lowest heat, or off the heat entirely, for the 2 minutes 30 seconds.
4. Add the milk (300 ml), the powder spices and the sugar (2 tbsp). Draw a cross along the bottom of the pot with a spoon, then brew over medium heat for 60 seconds.
5. After 60 seconds, reduce to low heat and brew for 1 minute 30 seconds. Above 74°C, milk develops a cooked smell that gets in the way of the spices and tea. Small bubbles around the rim of the pot are enough.
6. Turn off the heat and draw a cross along the bottom of the pot again, along a different path this time. Then stir the whole pot gently with the spoon to bring it together — imagine dissolving the sugar that has settled on the bottom.
7. Pour slowly through a tea strainer into a bowl. Pressing the leaves releases astringency and bitterness, so be gentle — no squeezing.
8. Set the bowl in a tray of ice water and cool the chai to body temperature. If it is still hot, the eggs will curdle in the next step.
9. Crack the 3 eggs into another bowl and beat them thoroughly, cutting through the whites. Pour in the cooled chai little by little while mixing, then strain through the tea strainer into the tray.
10. Lay in the baguette slices, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Turning the slices over once after the first hour lets the chai soak evenly through to the center.
11. Melt the butter (20 g) in a frying pan over medium-low heat, lightly drain the baguette slices, and lay them in. Cook for 3 minutes per side, until golden.
12. Once both sides are golden, cover and steam-cook over low heat for 3 minutes. The center warms through and the crumb settles soft.
13. Plate, and if you like, top with softly whipped cream and scatter the toasted nuts. It is also delicious with nothing on top at all — just the aroma of the chai.

The kind of sugar changes the flavor too. Dark cane sugar pairs best, and light brown cane sugar works well enough. White sugar has no depth, so nothing is left to support the aroma.

The Chai Spice Pack uses Assam tea leaves, so it contains caffeine. On days you share it with small children, keep the portions small.

If the baguette feels firm, extend the soaking time to overnight.