Chocolate Pots De Creme Cooks Illustrated Recipes

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.

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.)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a heavy saucepan, bring cream and milk to a boil. Remove from heat; whisk in chopped chocolate until smooth.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the yolks, sugar and salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot chocolate into yolks. Strain through a very fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl.
• Divide mixture among 2- to 4-ounce espresso cups or small ramekins. Set filled cups in a large roasting pan that has been positioned on center rack of oven. Add hot tap water to pan, halfway up sides of cups. Cover pan with foil; use a fork to prick holes in foil.
• Bake until edges are lightly set (lifting foil to check) but center is still jiggly - it will set as it cools - 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer cups to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving with crème fraîche or whipped cream.

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Put the chocolate into a medium bowl. Combine the cream and milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let sit for 30 seconds or so to allow the chocolate to melt, then stir together until smooth.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla paste. Slowly stream the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture, whisking constantly. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl or pitcher, then pour into six 4-ounce ramekins or ceramic cups or bowls.
• Arrange the ramekins in a baking dish or pan and carefully add enough hot water to come about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let the pots de creme sit in the hot water for 5 minutes. If they still appear very jiggly in the middle, let them sit for another 5 minutes in the hot water. You want the custards to be very firm around the edges and to barely move toward the center when gently shaken.
• Remove the ramekins from the hot water and let cool in a cool area of the kitchen before serving, or chill to serve cold.

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.

Steps:

• 1. Place the chocolate in a large bowl and set aside. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and salt together in a bowl until smooth. 2. Bring the cream and milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly whisk about 1 cup of the cream mixture into the yolks. Slowly whisk the yolks back into the cream mixture. Return the pan to low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly, just enough to coat the back of a spoon with a thin film, and registers 175 to 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 7 to 9 minutes. 3. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl with the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk the mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the vanilla and then divide evenly among six 6-ounce ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours.