Deep Chocolate Pots de Crème
Its dark, deep chocolate flavor, and silken texture, give this dessert an elegance that is hard to beat – and you can make it in less than 45 minutes, including baking time. Use the best chocolate you can afford – it’s the most important part of the dessert. You can bake this in small ovenproof ramekins, eggcups, or soufflé dishes. Do not use Pyrex dishes for this – they cannot go under the broiler. Serve the pots de crème with whipped cream and fresh berries or stone fruit. You can double or triple the recipe; be sure to use a large saucepan.

This recipe makes about 3 cups of custard; 6 regular servings, or up to 16 small servings.

2 cups heavy cream
4 ounces excellent quality dark chocolate (60 to 70%), chopped
6 yolks from large eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
pinch salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat a conventional oven to 325 degrees F. Set one of the racks in the center of the oven. Put about a third of the cream in a microwave with the chocolate, about 2 minutes. Stir the mixture with a small whisk until it is perfectly smooth.

Put the remaining cream into a heavy 2-quart saucepan, over medium heat, until it scalds (go to the Baking Hints page for information on scalding milk). While it heats, stir the eggs until smooth.

When the milk is scalded, add the sugar and salt and stir to dissolve all of the sugar. Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir gently until completely blended. Stir a quarter of the hot cream-chocolate mixture into the eggs, stirring to mix, and then stir the egg mixture back into the cream and chocolate.

Pour the pots de crème through a strainer and then into individual ovenproof dishes, cover them with a large piece of foil, leaving the edges of the foil loose. Bake them in a water bath on a center shelf of the oven for 15 to 18 minutes for smaller servings or up to 25 minutes for regular servings. (Refer to the Baking Hints page if you need help with this step.) When the pots de crème is done, the edges will be firm but the centers still a little soft; they will continue to cook after they are removed from the oven.

Take the pan out of the oven slowly and carefully, so you don’t spill the hot water, and set it on the top of a cool stove or a wire cooling rack. Use tongs to carefully remove each of the individual dishes, and allow them to cool completely before covering them tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerating them. They will keep for up to 5 days, refrigerated.

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