If you know me personally, then you know I’m obsessed with chai. My love for chai came really early one when I had my first chai latte at Galleon cafe. It was the first time I had freshly brewed chai, with the pot, strainer and the works! That sparked off my love for chai, almost instantly! haha
My best christmas present this year came in the mail and in the form of cookies! Thanks to Keep Left PR, they were so generous to send me a whole box of Byron Bay Cookies to try! You could imagine the smile on my face when I opened the box. Grin. haha Since there were so many cookies, I wanted to make a dessert out of some of them! Soft and decadent deliciousness! The first cookie that got my attention was the Chai latte cookie (of course!). So through some research, I decided to make some chai latte cheesecakes! Mmmmm!
And because I love my cakes with swirls and my dearest friend gave me a bottle of speculoos, I couldn’t resist swirling some into the cake! This cookie butter is magic and so addictive! Love the crunchy bits of cookie in the spread. I (shamelessly) eat this by the teaspoon haha
Love love love the color contrast of the off white cheesecake with the brown swirls! I was a happy girl (: I patiently waited for the cheesecake to set in the fridge overnight and had it for afternoon tea the next day! A pretty strong flavor of chai as I steep the spices in the cream to get a stronger chai flavour, and it worked! Paired with the chai latte cookie from Byron Bay Cookies, it was perfect! Chai on chai. DELISH!
So here is the recipe of these yummy cheesecake cups!
Chai Latte No-Bake Cheesecake Cups with Speculoos Swirls
(Adapted from Sweet and Savoury by Shinee)
Ingredients :
250g cream cheese, room temperature
120g cookie, finely crumbed (I used Byron Bay Chai Latte cookies)
55g unsalted butter
3 gelatine leaves (or 2g of gelatine powder)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup thickened cream
1/2 cup icing sugar
8 pieces of cardamom, slightly crushed
8 cloves
1 star anise
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 black tea teabag (I used darjeeling tea)
50g speculoos, room temperature
Steps:
1) In a small saucepan, heat up the cream with the spices and teabag and allow it to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Strain and set aside, allowing it to cool.
2) Place 12 cupcake liners on a tray or in a cupcake tin, and set aside. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter with the cookie crumbs until well combined. Put a tablespoon of cookie mixture into each liner and press it down firmly and evenly into the liner. Place it in the fridge to let it set for 15 minutes.
3) In a standing mixer, place the cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla bean paste and chai infused cream into the bowl. Whisk till mixture is smooth and well combined.
4) Soak the gelatine leaves according to the package instructions. In another small pot, heat up the milk, take it off the heat and place the gelatine leaves in. Stir till the gelatine is totally dissolved. Pour it into the cream cheese mixture, and whisk till well combined.
5) Pour mixture into the cupcake liners till about 3/4 full. Place the speculoos into the microwave for a few seconds, till it’s slightly runny. Pour a teaspoon of speculoos in a line, using a toothpick, make swirls by moving it from left to right.
6) Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight before serving it with a cuppa hot chai soy latte! Mmmmm! ENJOY!
Have a great week ahead everyone! Thank you once again Byron Bay Cookies and Keep Left PR for the delicious cookies!
Remember to always bake and cook with love! xx
