Chocolate Pots de Crème

Ever since I started my food blog here, and perhaps before, I've wanted to take part in the blog event Sugar High Fridays. This month it's being hosted by 1x umrühren bitte with a pudding theme. It's taken about 6 months for me to actually participate! Either because I miss the submission deadline, or didn't know what to make for the theme. Not this time - I planned ahead. And with the theme of pudding it was made pretty easy for me. Plus I had an excuse to pick up these 2 cute ramekins that I saw when I was shopping for ingredients.

I was thinking of making butterscotch pudding or caramel pots de crème, but then decided on chocolate pots de crème from the ever amazing Baking From My Home To Yours. I've never had or made pots de crème and was very intrigued. They're basically a baked custard pudding thing, and basically delicious. Extremely delicious.

The texture was smooth and creamy. I though it was the perfect sweetness, with a real but mellow chocolate flavour. My boyfriend thought it should have been sweeter though. A bit of a crust formed on the top, not hard at all but more ganache-like. I was pleasantly surprised at how good they tasted using Baker's chocolate. I tried them both warm and cold, and they're good both ways but I prefer them warm. I'll definitely be making these again.

The one thing I'm wondering about though is how Dorie suggests after putting the ramekins in to a water bath, covering the entire thing with plastic wrap. I did this, but by the end the plastic wrap had shrunk away, leaving the ramekins mostly uncovered. Hopefully it didn't melt and fall into the pots de crème. Anyway, does anyone know the story behind this? Did I do something wrong with the plastic wrap? Do I really need it? Also, I ended up cooking one not in a water bath and while it tasted good still, I think the egg cooked a bit on the bottom.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and all that! :)

Chocolate Pots de Crème
Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours (Dorie Greenspan)

Makes 8 servings

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 large egg
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 300F. Line a large roasting pan with a double thickness of paper towels, then put eight 4-ounce (1/2 cup) custard cups or ramekins in the pan. Boil some water.

Put the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring 1/2 cup of the heavy cream to a boil. When the cream is just at a boil, pour it over the chocolate and wait for a minute. Using a rubber spatula and starting in the center of the bowl, gently stir the cream and chocolate until the ganache is smooth; set aside.

Stir the remaining 1 cup cream and the milk together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large glass measuring cup or bowl, whisk the egg, yolks, sugar and salt together until pale and slightly thickened. Still whisking, drizzle in a little of the hot liquid - this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remaining liquid. Finally, slowly whisk the egg mixture into the ganache, stirring gently to incorporate.

With a spoon, skim the foam off the top of the custard, then pour the custard into the cups. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups.

Bake the custards for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the tops darken and the custards jiggle a little only in the center when tapped or lightly shaken.

Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Allow the custards to rest in their warm bath for 10 minutes, then peel off the plastic wrap and transfer the cups from the water to the cooling rack. Refrigerate when they reach room temperature. When the pots de creme and cool, cover them tightly with plastic wrap or their little lids.