Chocolate Pots De Creme: Silky Stovetop Custard Cups

Chocolate Pots de Creme

This chocolate pots de creme is a rich yet simple dessert that looks like something from a restaurant menu and behaves like a beginner friendly custard.

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The original recipe came together on a whim when a dinner invitation arrived at the last moment and there was no time to shop.

It was whisked together from ingredients already in the kitchen, chilled while everyone got ready, and carried to dinner in a covered dish.

The method stays on the stovetop. You warm cream, pour it over chopped chocolate, whisk in egg yolks and sugar, cook the mixture for a few minutes until it thickens, and let the refrigerator finish the job.

Ten minutes of prep, five minutes of cooking, and about an hour of chilling is all this dessert asks of you, and it serves six.

Why This Recipe Works

Two small additions do a lot of heavy lifting here. A teaspoon of instant coffee and a teaspoon of vanilla deepen the chocolate flavor and trim the sweetness, so the finished custard tastes dark and balanced instead of sugary. Because the chocolate is melted by hot cream rather than a double boiler, there is no tempering and no fuss.

• Coffee and vanilla enhance the chocolate flavor and cut down on the sweetness.
• Quick to prepare. The whole dessert takes minutes at the stove.
• Easy to adapt. A splash of your favorite liquor can go in with the cream for a grown up twist.

There is no water bath, no oven, and no long list of equipment. A saucepan, a bowl, and a whisk are enough, and the refrigerator handles the setting, so there is no oven timing to worry about either. It also scales neatly. Make one batch for a weeknight treat, or double it when you are feeding a holiday crowd.

How to Make Chocolate Pots de Creme

Here is the whole recipe in five moves before you dive into the details.

1. Heat the cream until it is hot, not boiling.
2. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, coffee, salt, and vanilla.
3. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar, then blend them into the cooled chocolate and cream mixture.
4. Divide the mixture into dessert dishes.
5. Chill, covered, for an hour or until set, then serve.

The only place home cooks run into trouble is heat. Cream that boils can form a skin, and a custard that cooks too fast can scramble.

Keep the heat gentle, stir constantly once the eggs go in, and you will land on a glossy, spoon coating custard every time. You need a small saucepan, a medium bowl, a whisk, and six small dishes or ramekins.

Gentle heat is the whole secret: cream that never boils and custard that never stops moving.

Which Chocolate Is Best

Chocolate is the whole personality of this dessert, so choose one you would happily eat on its own. The preferred pick is dark chocolate around 54.5 percent cacao, because it melts easily and tastes better in a custard.

Bars with very high cacao percentages can be dry and stubborn, and they sometimes keep the pots de creme from setting as firmly.

Any of these work well:

• Semi sweet chocolate
• Bittersweet chocolate
• Dark chocolate
• Milk chocolate, for a softer and sweeter result

If you use a sweeter chocolate, you can leave the sugar out entirely. Chop the bar finely rather than reaching for chips, since chopped chocolate melts more evenly in the hot cream. Whichever bar you choose, taste it first.

If it is sweeter than you like on its own, it will taste sweeter in the custard. If you enjoy comparing versions, this classic pots de creme dessert builds on the same cream and chocolate foundation.

Step by Step Instructions

Set yourself up before you turn on the heat, because the steps move quickly once the cream is warm.

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl with the coffee, salt, and vanilla and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat until a few bubbles form around the edge.
3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let it stand for 5 minutes so the chocolate melts, then whisk until smooth and combined.
4. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar thoroughly, then combine them with the chocolate and cream mixture.
5. Return everything to the saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
6. Divide the custard evenly among dessert glasses, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
7. Serve with chocolate shavings on top.

The spoon test is your signal to stop cooking. Draw a line through the custard on the back of the spoon. If the line holds, it is ready to chill. If it runs back together, keep stirring over medium heat for another minute.

Other Uses for This Recipe

Once you have a batch of this custard, you have more than a dessert in a glass. It is a versatile chocolate base that plays well in other sweets.

• Cake and pastry filling. Spoon it between cake layers or pipe it into cooled pastry shells.
• Fluffy frosting. Whip a chilled batch to loosen it, then spread it over cupcakes or a sheet cake.
• Fruit dip. Serve it slightly soft next to strawberries, raspberries, or sliced bananas.
• Sandwich cookie filling. Spread it between two cookies and chill until firm.

If chocolate is your favorite food group, this custard sits happily on a dessert table beside a dark chocolate mousse cake recipe, and it makes a lighter finish after dinner than a no bake chocolate pudding pie.

Ingredients

This makes six servings. Whipping cream is the standard choice, and heavy cream or double cream are also good options if that is what is in your fridge.

A few notes on the list. Use a chocolate bar you enjoy eating, because nothing here hides the flavor. The pinch of salt and the instant coffee are not there to make the custard taste like coffee, they simply sharpen the chocolate.

Cream gives these custards their body, so it is worth using the real thing rather than a light substitute. If your chocolate is on the sweeter side, the sugar can be left out.

Instructions

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl with the coffee, salt, and vanilla and set aside.
2. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until a few bubbles form around the edge.
3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it stand for 5 minutes to melt, then whisk until combined.
4. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar thoroughly and combine with the chocolate and cream.
5. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes.
6. Divide among ramekins or dessert dishes, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cool and slightly firm, anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, since different chocolates take different times to set back up after melting.

Chill time is the one variable worth planning around. A firm, well set chocolate may need only an hour, while a softer one can take closer to three.

Give the custards the time they need instead of serving them loose, and they will hold a clean shape on the spoon. Serve them cold, straight from the refrigerator, with chocolate shavings or a small spoonful of whipped cream on top!

Tips

• Choose chocolate with at least 54 percent cacao. Chocolate with less can struggle to set, leaving you with a soft pudding rather than a custard.
• Do not let the cream boil. Heating it to just before the boiling point keeps a skin from forming and protects the texture. Watch for small bubbles around the edge of the pan and take it off the heat.
• Skip the sugar if your chocolate is sweet. Milk chocolate or a sweeter dark bar often needs no added sugar at all.
• Stir constantly once the eggs go in. Steady movement over medium heat is what keeps the yolks silky instead of scrambled.
• Chop the chocolate finely. Small, even pieces melt faster in the hot cream and give you a smoother custard.
• Cover before chilling. Plastic wrap keeps a skin from forming on top of each custard.
• Plan for the chill. These custards need refrigerator time anyway, so they are easy to prepare in advance and serve later.

Recipe details

Preparation takes 10 minutes and cooking takes 5 minutes, with 1 hour of refrigeration. That puts the total time at 1 hour 15 minutes, and the recipe serves 6.

Source nutrition, per serving: 401 calories, 24g carbohydrates, 2g protein, 32g fat, 19g saturated fat, 2g fiber, 18g sugar, 25mg sodium, and 83mg cholesterol.

Adapted from the Chocolate pots de creme recipe at Erren’s Kitchen. Serve the custards cold, straight from the refrigerator, with a few chocolate shavings or a small dollop of whipped cream on top. Enjoy!

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Chocolate Pots de Creme

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Chocolate Pots de Creme This chocolate pots de creme is a rich yet simple dessert that looks like something from a restaurant menu and behaves like a beginner friendly custard. The original recipe came together on a whim when a dinner invitation arrived at the last moment and there was no time to shop.

• Total Time: 75 min
• Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

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1½ cups whipping cream
12 ounces bittersweet/dark chocolate, chopped
1 tsp instant coffee
1 pinch kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 egg yolks
2 tbs sugar

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Instructions

1-Place the chopped chocolate in a medium: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl with the coffee, salt, and vanilla and set aside.
2-In a small saucepan, heat the cream: In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat until a few bubble forms around the edge.
3-Pour the hot cream over the bowl: Pour the hot cream over the bowl with the chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate, then whisk until combined.
4-Whisk egg yolks and sugar thoroughly and: Whisk egg yolks and sugar thoroughly and combine with the chocolate and cream.
5-Add the mixture to the saucepan and: Add the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of the spoon, about 4 minutes.
6-Divide among ramekins or dessert dishes, cover: Divide among ramekins or dessert dishes, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cool and slightly firm (anywhere from 1 to 3 hours (different chocolates take different times to set back up after melting).

Last Step:

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Notes

Additional time: follow the resting and cooling steps (60 min).

• Prep Time: 10 min
• Cook Time: 5 min
• Method: stovetop

Nutrition

• Calories: 401
• Sugar: 18g
• Sodium: 25mg
• Fat: 32g
• Saturated Fat: 19g
• Carbohydrates: 24g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 2g
• Cholesterol: 83mg