Chocolate Pots de Crème for all of my Valentines~

A rich and chocolatey dessert for all my dear friends, cyber and tangible, and for my wonderful family. They are wonderful finale to any holiday or special dinner.

I've had pots de crème that have been like eating chocolate truffles, dense and heavy, but these are more like a custard. Delicious!


A mouthful of love from me to you...



Chocolate Pots de Crème
from Baking, from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

"While you can serve pots de crème at room temperature, I prefer these chilled. I usually serves them with a little lightly sweetened whipped cream or a dollop of crème fraîche." Quote by Dorie Greenspan

Makes 8 servings (my little lion cups are only 1/3 cup so I got 11 full servings)

4 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate, finely chopped*
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, divided
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 large egg
5 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt

Place rack in center of oven, and preheat to 300F. Line a roasting pan with 2 layers of paper towels. Place 8 (4-ounce) custard cups, ramekins, espresso, or pot de crème cups in pan.

Place the chopped chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl. Bring 1/2 cup cream to a boil and immediately pour over chocolate, and let sit 1 minute. Use a rubber spatula to gently swirl in circular motions until ganache is smooth. Set aside.

Combine the remaining 1 cup of cream and the milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, a large bowl, whisk egg, yolks, sugar and salt until pale and slightly thickened. Whisk in a small amount of the hot milk in order to temper the eggs. Slowly whisk in remaining hot milk. Then, slowly whisk egg mixture into the ganache, stirring gently to combine.

Skim foam from surface and gentely pour custard into cups. Fill pan with hot water to come halfway up the sides of cups. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, poke 2 holes in opposite corners and slide pan into the oven.**

Bake at 300° for 35 to 40 minutes, or until tops darken and the centers barely jiggle. Remove from the oven and allow the custards to rest for 10 minutes on a rack. Peel away the plastic wrap, remove cups from water bath, and let them cool to room temperature. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill overnight or up to 1 day.

*My notes: I used Valhrona 85% dark bittersweet. The second time I made them I used 5 ounces of chocolate for a more intense chocolate flavor.

**I was very worried when I read plastic wrap, but since they bake at such a low temperature, there was no problem at all. Just don't forget to poke the holes. I actually reduced the oven temperature to 290F and cooked them for the full 40 minutes.