Monday, February 1, 2010

Chocolate Pots de Creme

This last weekend my very best friend came over for dinner. A few days before her visit I asked what she wanted for dessert. Her answer "something custard-y, gooey... chocolatey" My first thought was Pots de Creme. I had seen a recipe in the February copy of Recipes+ and was planning on making that one, but in my last minute rush I didn't have the 6 hours to let it set. A quick net search landed me with this great recipe from My Recipes. It was written for 8 but I halved it. It tasted great, and had a great texture, firm top with a lovely gooey custard beneth, just as requested by the honoured guest!

Chocolate Pots de Creme
recipe from My Recipes

Ingredients (Makes 4)
4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/3 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Put 4 ramekins into a large roasting pan.
2. Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a pan over medium heat, warm cream, milk and 1/8 cup sugar, whisking often, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is just simmering. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and pour over chocolate. Let stand 3 minutes to melt chocolate; whisk until smooth.
3. In a second bowl, whisk remaining sugar and egg yolks until well combined and pale yellow. Whisking yolk mixture vigorously, slowly pour in about 1 cup chocolate mixture. Pour in remaining chocolate mixture, whisking well. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup.
4. Pour mixture from measuring cup evenly into ramekins. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Carefully transfer pan to oven and bake until custards are just set (they will jiggle slightly in centre), 25-25 mintes. Remove ramekins from water bath and let cool to room temperate on a wire rack. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill until cold, at least 1 hour.