I usually prefer dark chocolate over milk, but there’s something delightfully nostalgic about milk chocolate pots de crème. I make these in 3-oz ramekins, but have also used teacups and espresso cups. Make sure, whatever you choose, that it’s oven-safe. You can also make a larger or smaller portion, but you’ll have to adjust the yield and cooking time.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 3/4 cup 2% milk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 5 2/3 ounces high-quality milk chocolate, chopped
- 4 egg yolks
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place six ramekins in a baking pan.
In a medium pot, heat the cream, milk, and salt over medium heat. It should be steamy, but not boiling.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl, until the yolks are light in colour.
Add the chocolate directly to the hot cream. Whisk gently until all the chocolate has melted, making sure that chocolate doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.
Whisk half of the hot chocolate mixture into the eggs. Two things are important here: pour slowly and whisk briskly. This step is called tempering, and it prevents chocolate scrambled eggs.
Pour the chocolate-egg mixture back into the pot. Cook over medium-low heat while stirring gently with a wooden spoon. The mixture will get thicker as it cooks. When it’s done, it should coat the back of a wooden spoon. Draw a line down the middle of the spoon with your finger; if the mixture is cooked, the two halves will remain separate.
Strain through a sieve to catch any overcooked egg bits.
Divide the mixture between the ramekins and cover each with foil. Place these in a baking dish, pouring in enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake for 40–50 minutes until set. The custards will still be jiggly in the middle. Carefully remove from the water bath. Leave the foil on top and allow them to cool to room temperature. Remove the foil, wrap each one with plastic, and refrigerate at least 2 hours (and ideally overnight).
Serve with a dollop of brown sugar whipped cream, if you please.
Brown sugar whipped cream
This is the perfect accompaniment for creamy, rich pots de crème. The crunch of the sugar is a nice contrast to the smoothness of the pudding and the whipped cream, but not so much as to be distracting.
Serves 6
½ cup (125mL) whipping cream
1 tsp (5mL) brown sugar, preferably Demerara or Turbinado
Whip the cream to a soft peak. Just before serving, gently fold in the brown sugar.
From Eagranie Yuh - The Well-Tempered Chocolatier
