Chocolate Pots De Creme: A Silky Stovetop Custard Recipe

Chocolate Pots de Creme

Chocolate pots de creme is a rich but simple dessert: a stovetop custard of cream, chocolate, and egg yolks that sets into something smooth enough to eat with a spoon straight from the glass.

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The recipe comes from a home cook who needed a last minute contribution for a dinner invitation and did not want to arrive empty handed, so the recipe’s author made it from ingredients already in the kitchen.

That is exactly the kind of dessert it is. It looks lovely in a small dish, it tastes deeply of chocolate, and it never asks you to turn on the oven.

One batch makes 6 servings from seven ingredients. Prep takes about 10 minutes, the custard cooks in about 5 minutes, and then the refrigerator does the rest. The recipe is adapted from the original Chocolate Pots de Creme recipe.

Why This Recipe Works

Three small details do a lot of heavy lifting here.

• Coffee and vanilla. A teaspoon of instant coffee and a teaspoon of vanilla deepen the chocolate flavor and cut back the sweetness, so the finished dessert tastes darker and more grown up than the short ingredient list suggests.
• Egg yolks. They thicken the cream and chocolate into a true custard, which is why the mixture turns glossy and coats the back of a spoon after only a few minutes on the stove.
• Gentle heat. Everything happens in one small saucepan over medium heat, with steady stirring. No oven, no water bath, no waiting on a bake.

Compared with baked custards, this one is far more forgiving for a busy evening. There is nothing to pull from the oven at the right second, and nothing that can crack on top. It is also flexible, because the mixture takes well to a splash of your favorite liquor when you want to flavor it.

How to Make Chocolate Pots de Creme

The whole process follows the same rhythm every time: melt, whisk, thicken, chill.

1. Heat the cream. Warm 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until a few bubbles form around the edge. It should be hot, not boiling.
2. Melt the chocolate. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate, instant coffee, salt, and vanilla, let it stand for 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
3. Add the yolks. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar thoroughly, then combine them with the slightly cooled chocolate and cream mixture.
4. Thicken. Return everything to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes.
5. Chill. Divide among dessert dishes, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until set.

That is the entire method. If you can stir a saucepan for four minutes, you can make this dessert, and the reward is a dessert that looks like it came from a restaurant.

Which Chocolate Is Best

Chocolate is the main flavor here, so the bar you choose matters more than anything else in the recipe. The original recipe calls for 12 ounces of chopped bittersweet or dark chocolate, and the recipe’s author prefers dark chocolate around 54.5% cacao because it melts easily and tastes better in a custard.

Bittersweet, dark, semisweet, and milk chocolate are all workable. Just keep one rule in mind: the higher the cacao percentage, the less sugar the chocolate carries, and the firmer the finished pots de creme tend to set.

Use good quality chocolate that is no less than 54% cacao. Chocolate with a lower percentage can have trouble setting into a custard.

Chop the chocolate from a bar rather than reaching for chips. Bar chocolate melts more evenly, and even pieces are what give you a smooth custard instead of a grainy one.

Step by Step Instructions

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl with the instant coffee, the pinch of kosher salt, and the vanilla. Set it aside.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat until a few bubbles form around the edge. Do not let it come to a full boil.
3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate mixture. Let it stand for 5 minutes so the chocolate melts, then whisk until everything is combined and glossy.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar thoroughly. Combine them with the chocolate and cream mixture.
5. Add the mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes.
6. Divide evenly among ramekins or dessert dishes, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cool and slightly firm. That can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, because different chocolates take different times to set back up after melting.
7. Serve with chocolate shavings on top.

A few notes make these steps easier. Use a spatula or whisk that reaches into the corners of the pan, and keep the heat at medium so the yolks stay smooth. When you lift the spoon, draw a line through the coating with your finger. If the line holds, the custard is ready to come off the heat.

Other Uses for This Recipe

The custard is not only for small glasses. Once it is thick and cooled, it can do more work in the kitchen:

• Cake and pastry filling. Spoon it between cake layers or pipe it into pastries for a rich chocolate center.
• Fluffy frosting. Whip the cooled custard to loosen it, then spread it over cupcakes or a sheet cake.
• Fruit dip. Serve it slightly soft alongside strawberries, banana slices, or apple wedges.
• Sandwich cookie filling. Spread it between two cookies for a simple homemade treat.

If you like the idea of a chocolate dessert you can put together without turning on the oven, our No Bake Chocolate Pudding Pie scratches the same craving. For another take on the same classic, the Chocolate Pots de Creme Recipe at Simply Recipes is a helpful reference point.

Ingredients

This recipe makes 6 servings. Heavy cream and double cream are both good options in place of the whipping cream, so use whichever one you keep in the refrigerator. The chocolate should be chopped from a bar for the smoothest melt.

Most of these are pantry or refrigerator staples, which is a big part of why this dessert comes together so fast on short notice. Nothing here needs a special trip to the store.

Instructions

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 mixture. Let it stand for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate, then whisk until combined.
4. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar thoroughly, then combine them with the chocolate and cream.
5. Add 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. Depending on the chocolate, that can take 1 to 3 hours, because different chocolates set back up at different speeds after melting.

One thing worth repeating: keep the heat at medium and keep the mixture moving. The custard thickens quickly near the end, and constant stirring is what keeps it silky instead of grainy.

When you are ready to serve, a few chocolate shavings on top are all it needs. If you would rather keep things plain, the custard is just as good on its own.

Tips

• Buy chocolate you enjoy eating. Choose good quality chocolate with no less than 54% cacao. Lower percentages can struggle to set.
• Watch the cream closely. Heat it until just before the boiling point. Boiling can cause a skin to form on the cream.
• Taste your chocolate first. If you use a sweeter chocolate, you can leave the 2 tablespoons of sugar out entirely.
• Give it enough chill time. The custard should be cool and slightly firm before serving, and some chocolates need closer to 3 hours.
• Flavor it your way. A little of your favorite liquor is an easy variation when you want to change things up.
• Cover before chilling. The recipe covers the dishes with plastic wrap before they go into the refrigerator, so follow that step.
• Stir, do not rush. The four minutes of constant stirring over medium heat is what gives you a smooth, spoonable texture.

Recipe details

The active work is only about 15 minutes. Everything after that is chilling time. If your chocolate needs longer than an hour to firm up, the pots de creme will still be fine, so give them the time they need.

For the full card and a printable version, see our Chocolate Pots De Creme page.

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Chocolate Pots de Creme Chocolate pots de creme is a rich but simple dessert: a stovetop custard of cream, chocolate, and egg yolks that sets into something smooth enough to eat with a spoon straight from the glass. The recipe comes from a home cook who needed a last minute contribution for a dinner invitation and did not want to arrive empty handed, so the recipe’s author made it from ingredients already in the kitchen.

• 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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• 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