Chocolate Pots De Creme With Cherry Whip Recipes

CHOCOLATE POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Bring half-and-half just to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat; add chocolate and sugar. Let stand 5 minutes.
• In a large bowl, stir together yolks, vanilla, cocoa, salt, and liqueur if desired. With a fork, stir chocolate mixture until smooth, then gradually stir into yolk mixture. Pour through a fine sieve into a glass measuring cup.
• Place 4 custard cups or ramekins (3 to 4 ounces each) in a shallow roasting pan, and divide chocolate mixture among them. Pour hot water into the pan so it reaches halfway up the sides of cups.
• Bake until custards are almost set in centers, about 30 minutes (custards will firm as they cool). Carefully remove cups from hot-water bath; let cool slightly.
• Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate. Just before serving, dollop with whipped cream, if desired.

CHOCOLATE POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Bring cream and milk just to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk yolks and sugar in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot chocolate mixture. Strain mixture into another bowl. Cool 10 minutes, skimming any foam from surface.
• Divide custard mixture among six 3/4-cup custard cups or soufflé dishes. Cover each with foil. Place cups in large baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Bake until custards are set but centers still move slightly when gently shaken, about 55 minutes. Remove from water. Remove foil. Chill custards until cold, about 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)

CHOCOLATE POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream and the salt until scalded, then pour over the chocolate to melt it. Whisk the yolks with 1/2 cup of the sugar. Temper the yolk mixture with the hot chocolate mixture then place on the stove over medium heat to thicken slightly, until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Pour mixture into ramekins and bake in a water bath at 300 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes until mostly set but a little jiggly in the center. Chill covered.
• To serve, whip the cream with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon sugar and orange rind. Dollop onto the pots de creme.
• Alternate Garnish: If you have vanilla beans lying around the house that have already been used, here's a great way to recycle them. Cut split vanilla beans into 3-inch sections. Place on a sheet pan in a preheated 300-degree oven and bake until dried. Keep in an airtight container. To garnish the pots de creme, lay the dried vanilla beans across the whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Place the chocolate in a blender. Whisk the milk, 1 cup cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar and salt in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula and almost boiling, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Immediately pour the milk mixture over the chocolate in the blender. Cover and hold the lid with a thick kitchen towel; blend until combined and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Divide the chocolate mixture among ramekins or small cups and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
• Whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream and the confectioners' sugar with a mixer or in the blender until soft peaks form. Top the chilled pots de creme with whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl and set aside.
• Combine the cream, half-and-half, salt, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a medium saucepan and put over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, just until it starts to approach a simmer, about 4 minutes-you'll know it's ready when small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan. Remove from the heat.
• Combine the egg yolks and the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl, and whisk until combined and smooth. Whisking the eggs constantly, slowly pour in about 1 cup of the milk mixture. Then pour the yolk mixture into the pan, whisking constantly until smooth.
• Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula, until the mixture is thick and about the consistency of a pureed soup, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Pour the cream mixture over the chopped chocolate and let stand for 3 to 5 minutes. Then slowly and gently stir with a whisk-try not to incorporate any air. When smooth, add the vanilla extract and stir again to blend. Pour the mixture through a fine strainer into a large-lipped measuring cup.
• Divide evenly into eight 4-ounce cups or ramekins and refrigerate, uncovered. After 2 hours, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours longer.
• To serve, let the ramekins come to room temperature (about 30 minutes) and then top with the whipped cream and shaved chocolate.
• The type of chocolate you use has a significant impact on the flavor and texture of this luscious dessert. With bittersweet chocolate (60 to 65 percent cacao), the pots will be intensely chocolaty and almost truffle-like; using semisweet chocolate (around 52 percent cacao) yields a sweeter, mellower, more pudding-like treat.