Masala chai crème brûlée

Recipes taken from Gunpowder by Harneet Baweja, Devina Seth and Nirmal Save (Kyle Books, £25)

Chai goes so well in dessert – you could also add white chocolate to the mix in place of some of the sugar.

Makes 4-6

Preparation time: 25 minutes, plus chilling

Cooking time: 35 minutes

3 cloves

5 green cardamom pods 1 cinnamon stick or 1tsp ground cinnamon

400ml double cream

100ml full-fat milk

2 Indian masala chai tea bags 1/2tsp ground ginger

80g caster sugar, plus 4tbsp for the tops

5 large egg yolks

1/2tsp vanilla extract

To serve

Biscuits, cookies or shortbread (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 160°C

(140° fan) mark 3.

2 Place the cloves, cardamom and cinnamon in a spice or coffee grinder or pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder.

3 Pour the cream and milk into a large saucepan. Add the tea bags, ground whole spices and ginger and stir to mix well. Place the saucepan over a medium heat and bring almost to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5min. Set aside to infuse further for 10min, then strain the mixture through a sieve or muslin cloth.

4 In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla until light and creamy. Slowly pour the strained cream into the egg mixture, whisking continuously, then divide the mixture between 4-6 small ramekins.

5 Place the ramekins in a roasting tray and pour enough boiling water into the tray to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place the tray on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 30min until just set, but with a slight wobble.

6 Set aside to cool to room temperature before chilling in the fridge for a final set.

7 To finish, sprinkle enough sugar on the top of each crème brûlée to fully cover the surface of the set cream. Caramelise with either a kitchen blowtorch or under a very hot oven grill. Serve straight away or return to the refrigerator until ready to eat. Serve with your choice of biscuits, cookies or shortbread, if you like.