Chocolate Caramel Pot Du Creme
For those of you who have never heard of a pot du creme, take a minute.
Your life is about to change.
For the much, much better.
So put your beret on and practice your accent. We are about to French it up.
You may have thought that up until this post your life was just delightful...full of cakes, cookies, pies, and the occasional cannoli. But wait no more. I present a dessert which may change your life.
It at least had my aunt literally licking the ramekin. Which is high praise indeed.
That, or the fact that she has 5 children means she never gets to eat an entire dessert by herself. Doesn't matter. She loved it. And asked me to make her more. So I was like...umm... you just ate the last one.
To say she looked heartbroken is an understatement. But she did tell me I was welcome to bake for her anytime. So that's a plus.
So for any of you who are looking for a decadent and festive dessert, what screams indulgent more than chocolate and caramel in silky pudding form? Not much. Hence my eagerness to share my recipe for this pot du créme.
This recipe takes a bit of effort with the caramel, and a touch of patience with the water bath baking. Plus it makes a fair number of dishes. But my goodness it is worth every minute.
Before we start let’s throw on an apron just to be safe... and stylish in the kitchen, obviously.
First, preheat the oven to 325F.
Now, let us begin with the caramel. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, combine sugar, cream of tartar, and water. Bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute and continue to boil until the sugar turns a golden color, about 5-7 more minutes.
Remove the pan from heat and stand back. Gently pour in the cream which will bubble like mad and fill up most of the pot. Once it calms down, return the pan to heat and whisk until the caramel is dissolved. When the mixture is smooth, add the milk and cook for an additional minute. Set aside.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a large bowl over a double boiler and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the egg yolks and salt and beat for a minute on medium speed until they are light yellow.
This is tricky - you now need to add the warm caramel cream to the eggs but you must do it slowly, lest you scramble your eggs. This is best done by slowly ladling one cup of caramel at a time, and pouring it down the side of the metal bowl while the mixer is on. The bowl will help cool the mixture and the stirring will prevent one area of the egg mixture from rapidly heating.
When the eggs and caramel cream are combined, slowly add one cup at a time to the melted chocolate. Again, slow is the key. Before you add more to the chocolate you want it to be completely combined.
At this point the chocolate looks smooth and super shiny. But it’s not ready to eat yet!
After you’ve added half of the cream to the chocolate, go ahead and dump it all back into the remaining cream in the stand mixer. Mix gently on low until combined. The goal is for everything to be mixed, but you do not want extra air in the pudding.
Time to bake!
Place ramekins in a deep dish, like a 9x13 pan or roaster. Fill up the pan with hot water so the ramekins are 2/3 deep.
Carefully ladle the mixture into each ramekin. Personally, I like to strain the mixture as I ladle which helps remove some extra bubbles and any potential lumps of overcooked egg.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake.
**Side note: one of the most difficult things is putting the pan into the oven without splashing the water into the ramekins. So take extra care and make sure there aren’t any crazy kiddos running around who might bump you during this important step.
After 40-45 minutes, each dessert should have a nice little jiggle in the middle but not look like liquid. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully remove them from the water bath.
**I like to use the jar grippers I use for canning.
Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.
Your life is about to change.
For the much, much better.
So put your beret on and practice your accent. We are about to French it up.
You may have thought that up until this post your life was just delightful...full of cakes, cookies, pies, and the occasional cannoli. But wait no more. I present a dessert which may change your life.
It at least had my aunt literally licking the ramekin. Which is high praise indeed.
To say she looked heartbroken is an understatement. But she did tell me I was welcome to bake for her anytime. So that's a plus.
So for any of you who are looking for a decadent and festive dessert, what screams indulgent more than chocolate and caramel in silky pudding form? Not much. Hence my eagerness to share my recipe for this pot du créme.
This recipe takes a bit of effort with the caramel, and a touch of patience with the water bath baking. Plus it makes a fair number of dishes. But my goodness it is worth every minute.
Before we start let’s throw on an apron just to be safe... and stylish in the kitchen, obviously.
First, preheat the oven to 325F.
Now, let us begin with the caramel. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, combine sugar, cream of tartar, and water. Bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute and continue to boil until the sugar turns a golden color, about 5-7 more minutes.
Remove the pan from heat and stand back. Gently pour in the cream which will bubble like mad and fill up most of the pot. Once it calms down, return the pan to heat and whisk until the caramel is dissolved. When the mixture is smooth, add the milk and cook for an additional minute. Set aside.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a large bowl over a double boiler and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the egg yolks and salt and beat for a minute on medium speed until they are light yellow.
This is tricky - you now need to add the warm caramel cream to the eggs but you must do it slowly, lest you scramble your eggs. This is best done by slowly ladling one cup of caramel at a time, and pouring it down the side of the metal bowl while the mixer is on. The bowl will help cool the mixture and the stirring will prevent one area of the egg mixture from rapidly heating.
When the eggs and caramel cream are combined, slowly add one cup at a time to the melted chocolate. Again, slow is the key. Before you add more to the chocolate you want it to be completely combined.
At this point the chocolate looks smooth and super shiny. But it’s not ready to eat yet!
Time to bake!
Place ramekins in a deep dish, like a 9x13 pan or roaster. Fill up the pan with hot water so the ramekins are 2/3 deep.
Carefully ladle the mixture into each ramekin. Personally, I like to strain the mixture as I ladle which helps remove some extra bubbles and any potential lumps of overcooked egg.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake.
**Side note: one of the most difficult things is putting the pan into the oven without splashing the water into the ramekins. So take extra care and make sure there aren’t any crazy kiddos running around who might bump you during this important step.
After 40-45 minutes, each dessert should have a nice little jiggle in the middle but not look like liquid. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully remove them from the water bath.
**I like to use the jar grippers I use for canning.
Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Caramel Pot du Creme
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 5 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 7 egg yolks
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- In a heavy bottom sauce pan, combine sugar, cream of tartar, and water. Bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute and continue to boil until the sugar turns a golden color, about 5-7 more minutes.
- Remove the pan from heat and carefully pour in the cream. This will bubble and steam immediately. Once it calms down, return the pan to heat and whisk until the caramel is dissolved. When the mixture is smooth, add the milk and cook for an additional minute. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, melt the chocolate over a double boiler then set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the egg yolks and salt and beat for a minute on medium speed until they are light yellow.
- Once the eggs are ready, slowly ladle in one cup of caramel cream at a time, and pouring it down the side of the metal bowl while the mixer is on.
- When all caramel is added, slowly add one cup of the cream mixture to the bowl with the melted chocolate. Before you add more milk to the chocolate, the mixture should be completely incorporated and shiny.
- After you’ve added half of the cream to the chocolate, add the chocolate mixture back into the remaining cream in the stand mixer. Mix gently on low until combined.
- Place ramekins in a deep dish. Fill the pan with hot water so the ramekins are 2/3 deep.
- Carefully ladle the mixture into each ramekin.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 40-45 minutes, until each dessert has a little jiggle in the middle. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully remove the custards from the water bath.
- Cool for at least 6 hours prior to serving.
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