CHOCOLATE POT DE CREME

Annie's husband, Pierson, was out of town helping some friends of ours shoot a movie and Annie, being the kind of girl who requires a lot of attention, all but demanded that I hang out with her until his return.  Friday, Annie, Mark, myself and out friend Laura headed down to Abbot Kinney in Venice where a friend of Laura's runs a fantastic little shop that specializes in clothing imported from the UK.  For the store's one-year anniversary the proprieptress threw a party, complete with fashion show, to celebrate.  Having consumed a bit too much white wine on a stomach that was for all intents and purposes, empty, Mark and I crashed at Annie's place. 

The next day, Annie and I were going to get together and cook something, but due to my hangover, I couldn't possibly.  Instead, we met up at Century City Mall to go see "Friends With Money."  After we ate Greek food at the mall's gorgeous new food court, we killed time at the bookstore, where Annie ended up purchasing Martha's new baking handbook. 

Sunday bright an early, Annie called me.  "Let's cook something today!" she chirped through the phone.  I sighed.  I was sort of in the mood to bake a chicken.  I had not made one all winter long, and with the days getting longer and warmer, the appeal of heating up the oven for hours was quickly dissipating.  "Fine," I told her.  "But we're going to roast a chicken."  I suggested that she make the dessert, using her new handbook.  Later, sitting in her dining room, we leafed through the book trying to find the perfect finish to Balthazar's roasted chicken with herbed butter.  Everything looked elegant and delicious, but as the afternoon wore on, Annie and I began to question if making a chicken as well as an involved dessert was feasible.  I looked through the Balthazar cookbook and found this recipe.  "Why don't we make this?" I suggested showing her the picture.  "It's basically just melting chocolate with cream, mixing it with some egg yolks and then baking it for an hour.  It's easy!  You don't even had to do a double broiler."  She shrugged.  "Fine with me."  She and I headed over to Surfas to get some chocolate and when we returned, she made herself a rum and coke while I started on the dessert.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounces Valrhona semisweet chocolate, coursely chopped (I used 1/2 Valrhona and 1/2 Sharffen Berger 70% chocolate)
6 large egg yolks

METHOD
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla.  Whisk to combine and bring to a boil over a medium heat.  Add the chopped chocolate and whisk until melted.  Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs yolks.  In a slow steady stream, add the chocolate-cream mixture, whisking until smooth.  Divide the mixture among 6 ramekins, small custard bowls, or espresso cups (about 6 ounces each) and place them in a large casserole or high-sided baking dish.

Make a bain-marie (or water bath), by pouring cold water into the casserole so that it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins or custard bowls.  Cover tightly with foil and bake on the center rack for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  The custards shouls jiggle slightly in the center when finished. 

Let cool to room temperature then place in the regrigerator.  Serve cool (although I sort of wanted to try one warm, while the smell of dark chocolate still permeated the air).  We topped ours with fresh whipped cream, grated Sharffen Berger chocolate and a teensy sprig of mint.  How cute is that?

And listen, they taste better than they look.  Intensely chocolatey, not super sweet, and with a most interesting consistency - not as loose as a pudding - it's very dense, almost like a soft, cold chocolate truffle that you eat with a spoon.  Very opulent.  Keep in mind, however, that because these are so rich, they are probably better for two people to share or you could do like the recipe suggested and make them in tiny little espresso cups, which would probably be just the perfect amount for one person.   

Comments

[m]

The chocolate cream pots! Thank you!

[Luisa]

They taste better than they look? But they already look so good! And, can I say that I love those kitchen counters? So clean, so well-tiled. Gorgeous. ;)

[Vaguely Urban]

Grant, you're seriously underestimating my ability to consume chocolate. I'll take the whole ramekin, please.

(They're gorg - and the placecard is darling.)

[MM]

The whole ramekin? Are you kidding? I'd take all the ramekins! Mine, all mine!!! OK, sorry, it's early in the morning and I just ate a lot of sugar ... but I still want the choccies treats ...

[ann]

hmmmm.... i wonder if its an Ann(ie) "thing" to need to be constantly entertained??
it would be a handy excuse!
oh, and these look NUMMY!
thanks grant!

[hkazi]

Made these last night for a dinner party, and they turned out wonderfully. They make such a nice presentation. My guests actually devoured their entire ramekins!

Thanks for the recipe!

[Grant]

M - yeah I sort of accidentally deleted that post. But now the pots are back with the full recipe.

Luisa - I'm glad you like the counters, but I should point out that they belong to my friend Annie, who kindly lets me cook in her kitchen every so often.

MM - I was just basing my observation on our dining companion Tricia, who found the dessert a little too much. I on the other hand, had no problem finishing mine and hers.

ann - I think they look good too.

hkazi - I'm so glad you made them and loved them. That's fantastic. Thank you.

[Kathryn]

Hi Grant,

Just wanted to let you know I made this for dessert last night and it was outstanding and easy to make. Everyone loved it, was a big hit -so thanks!

[Anni]

Love the ramekins used. Would you kindly direct me to where I can purchase a set?

The dessert looks devine!

Tootles,

Anni

[Annie]

You can purchase those particular ramekins at Crate + Barrel.

[anita]

I was looking for some little dishes for my pots de creme when I saw your posting- I just made virtually the identical recipe from the new Better Homes and Gardens! IT was much simpler in that you didn't do the last step of baking them, they were simply chilled - they were fantastic and virtually identical to yours- give them a try.

[chocolate strawberries]

Here's how to make delicious chocolate covered strawberries. First of all ensure that the strawberries you are intending

to use are dry, then allow them to be room temperature warm prior to making them. After the strawberries have been

covered in chocolate, put them in your refrigerator to cool, but do not store them in the fridge. Consume within 1-2

days.

[Anon]

are you sure one should use cold water for the water bath? I have always used hot water. But thats a tiny detail - yours look lovely!