Pots De Crème
Pots de crème is a rich dark chocolate custard that’s quick, easy to make, and impressive to serve for any occasion. This recipe has a deep chocolatey flavor enhanced with espresso powder and a drop of Kahlua. Make these chocolate pots de creme for a chocolate dessert that’s a step above.
Chocolate Pots de creme may sound like a sophisticated French dessert requiring a pastry pedigree fro Le Cordon Bleu, but in its most basic form, it’s a simple baked custard. That’s not to say it isn’t rich, luscious and decadent. It is.
Pots de crème (literally pots of cream) is the perfect creamy, rich chocolate indulgence for dinner parties large and small. One spoonful and you’ll be hooked.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- My pot de crème recipe is sweet but not cloyingly so. The flavors are balanced and refined.
- It only takes about 20 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes to bake.
- You can make the pots de creme recipe a day or two ahead.
- It’s an elegant dessert for special occasions like Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day.
- It’s made with good quality dark chocolate and enriched with espresso and Kahlua.
- You can make them in ramekins or other heat-safe baking dishes.
Ingredients:
- Whipping Cream – heavy cream is higher in fat than milk and not only helps the custard to set, but also gives it a richer mouthfeel. I used heavy whipping cream.
- Milk – You can use whole milk or 2%, but not 1% or skim.
- Granulated Sugar – the pure sweetness of white sugar gives a cleaner flavor to the chocolate pots de creme.
- Espresso Powder – Adding coffee to chocolate deepens the chocolate flavor. In this case, espresso powder adds an intenseness that really defines the bittersweet chocolate.
- Kahlua – I use the Kahlua in both the pot de creme recipe as well as in the whipped cream garnish to echo the flavors.
- Bittersweet Chocolate – Use good quality chocolate such as Lindt, Ghirardelli, or Scharffenberger.
- Egg Yolks – to make the custard and enrich it. The eggs will stabilize the custard mixture when baking in the water bath.
- Garnishes – optional but recommended. I used a Kahlua spiked whipped cream and festive dragées.
Step-by-step instructions:
- Combine the espresso powder and Kahlua and stir until the espresso is dissolved.
- Heat the whipping cream, milk and sugar over medium high heat just until it starts to boil and quickly remove it from the heat.
- Stir the coarsely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and the espresso mixture into the hot cream mixture and stir until dissolved.
- Whisk the egg yolks together and add the ⅓-½ cup of the hot cream mixture, one tablespoon at a time to temper the yolks.
- Add the egg yolk mixture back to the chocolate cream and whisk to blend.
- Pour the pots de creme through a fine mesh strainer to remove any denatured proteins or imperfections.
- Divide the chocolate pots de creme mixture between ½ cup ramekins or other heat safe baking dishes and fill them most of the way.
- Transfer the pots de creme to a baking or roasting pan with sides at least 2″ high and place on the middle rack of a preheated 350° oven.
- Pour enough hot water into the aluminum baking pan to come halfway up the sides of your baking dishes.
- Bake until the chocolate pots de creme are set but slightly jiggly in the center.
- Carefully remove the pots de creme and cool to room temperature. Cover each and refrigerate until chilled, for several hours or overnight.
- Serve with whipped cream, dragées or a coffee bean garnish or the garnish of your choice.
For the water bath (bain marie), you can heat water to a simmer over medium heat, microwave it until hot or use your hottest tap water.
Pro-tips:
- I use good quality 4-ounce chocolate bars, but you can also use good quality chocolate chips, such as Ghirardelli.
- Though it may seem like an unnecessary extra step, straining the chocolate custard will ensure a silky texture. Don’t skip it.
- To save time, I use a small mesh strainer and pour the pots de creme custard directly through the strainer and into the ramekins or custard cups instead of straining the entire recipe into another bowl.
- Most chocolate pots de creme recipes bake off the custard in standard half-cup ramekins, but I like to mix it up. I used my picardie glasses to give this a more “French” feel. I even used some tiny picardie glasses that made beautiful little “shot glass” versions of this dessert, perfect for parties.
- The custards need to chill for at least two hours to set, but also because these chocolate pots de creme are best eaten with a slight chill. Remove them from the refrigerator for at least 10-15 minutes before enjoying.
Variations:
Use other liqueur to give the chocolate pots de creme a different flavor profile
- Swap the Kahlua-espresso mixture for Grand Marnier or Cointreau with the dark chocolate pots de creme. Garnish with candied orange peel.
- Or use Frangelico or Amaretto to give it a nutty flavor. Garnish with candied hazelnuts or almonds.
- Swap out the coffee flavorings with a teaspoon of peppermint extract and garnish with whipped cream and an Andes mint.
- Give the chocolate pots de creme a berry essence by using Creme de Cassis instead of the Kahlua.
- You can also skip the liqueur as flavoring and just use a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- For a sweeter chocolate flavor, you can swap the bittersweet chocolate for milk chocolate.
Storage:
Keep the pots de creme tightly covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Do not garnish the baked chocolate custards until you’re ready to serve as whipped cream will weep and sprinkles can bleed their color.
Freezing:
Unfortunately, this custard doesn’t do well in the freezer, so that’s not an option for prolonging its shelf-life.
Optional Garnishes
To me, these chocolate baked custards just scream for a dollop of whipped cream at the very least. To make it more special and festive, I recommend flavoring your whipped cream with a bit of the same Kahlua you used in the pots de creme recipe. I’ve given instructions in the recipe card below.
From there, you can decorate as you see fit.
- A coffee bean on top hints at the flavor profile of the dessert.
- Nonpareils are another option—Red for Valentine’s Day or Christmas, white for New Year’s Eve or an Anniversary celebration. Wait until the last minute if you’re garnishing with colored nonpareils, as they will bleed into the whipped topping if it sits for too long.
- Chocolate shavings or curls would be festive.
- A cherry (or chocolate covered cherry) makes a classic garnish for your baked pots de creme.
FAQs:
POH-də-KREM.
Chocolate Pots de crème is a baked egg custard, whereas chocolate mousse is made of melted chocolate, whipped egg whites and whipped cream. It’s not baked but rather assembled and refrigerated to set.
What our tasters said:
“Luscious!” — Nola
“I love the mini ones – they would be perfect for holiday parties and for a dessert buffet table.” –Cassie
“Wow – it’s nothing like chocolate pudding. So much richer and with a lovely velvety texture.” — Beth
What to serve with pots de crème
- Espresso or Cafe Au Lait
- A snifter of brandy or cognac
- An after-dinner liqueur or cordial, such as sambuca, amaretto, or frangelico.
- A good sipping bourbon, rum or tequila.
More puddings, custards and mousses you’ll love:
- Chocolate Mousse
- Peach Panna Cotta
- Banana Pudding Parfait
- Pumpkin Custard Brûlée
- Coconut Rum Pudding
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Pots De Crème
INGREDIENTS:
- 1½ cups whipping cream
- ¾ cup milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 4 large egg yolks
Kahlua Whipped Cream
- ½ cup whipping cream
- 1½ tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons kahlua
Optional Garnish:
- whole coffee beans
- jimmies, sprinkles or other decorative topping
- shaved chocolate
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350°. Set aside a square cake pan with 2″ high sides for baking the custards.
- In a small bowl, combine the Kahlua and espresso powder, stirring until powder is dissolved. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat the whipping cream, milk and sugar over medium high heat until it just reaches a boil. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate and stir until completely dissolved. Stir in the Kahlua mixture. Transfer 1/2 cup of hot custard to a glass measuring cup with a spout.
- Whisk the egg yolks together and then slowly drizzle in the reserved custard in the measuring cup, whisking constantly. (Adding the hot milk to the eggs very slowly will temper the eggs and prevent them from scrambling). Add the egg mixture back to the larger pot with the chocolate and cream. Stir to combine.
- Use 1/2 cup ramekins or other oven-safe glass containers for the pots de creme. Pour the custard mix into the glass measuring cup (you may have to do this in several batches, depending on how large your measuring cup is). Set a fine mesh strainer over the first ramekin and pour the custard mixture through. Fill nearly to the top. Continue filling the remainder of the ramekins in this fashion.
- Carefully place ramekins in the square cake pan. Place the pan in the oven. Fill the cake pan with hot water that comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until custards are set, but still slightly jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Make Kahlua Whipped Cream
- Using a hand mixer whip the cream until it just starts to get some volume but not to the soft peak stage. Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip to soft peaks. Add the cornstarch and kahlua and whip to stiff peaks.
- Dollop whipped cream on each pots de creme OR fit a piping bag with a large tip and fill the bag with whipped cream. Pipe the cream onto the individual custards. Garnish as desired.
Absolutely stunning! I made this for my husband’s 40th birthday dinner and we were blown away. I’d never made pot de creme before and your recipe made it so easy!
I’m so happy to hear it! Happy Birthday to your husband!
Oh my goodness, this sounds so good! My favorite part is the kahlua whipped cream. YUM!
Bittersweet and kahlua sound so perfect together! Beautiful dessert.
What an interesting recipe,I feel like diving into these glasses right away. Lovely share.
Kahula and coffee. Such a classic, beautiful combination. I think I might try these for desert on Valentine’s day!
That’s my plan, too!
Wow, these pots de creme look amazing! I love making my favorite desserts into adult desserts! Yum.
Chocolate egg custard with coffee and kahlua?! This sounds amazing. I had a cat named Kahlua 😉 And since it has coffee in it my husband will stay away from it – more for me!
He doesn’t like coffee?
These sound and look amazing! I can only imagine how they must taste. Really appreciated the step by step guide. Thanks for sharing Lisa!
OOoh I have a lot of love for Kahlua – this sounds so deliciously decadent!
What not to love about this? It is so elegant looking and bet utterly delicious too! Yum!
These look amazing!
These sound absolutely delicious. Definitely something the boyfriend would like! We don’t drink, so would likely omit the Kahlua, but I’m sure they would still be tasty.
Oh, yes, it will definitely work without Kahlua — in fact, you could just add a teaspoon of vanilla instead, if you like.