Chocolate sex

Hey ladies – I’ve found it. The ultimate chocolate dessert. I told my husband last night that this dessert is so good, I could have sex with it. Like many husbands (I’m sure… I hope), mine is always complaining that we don’t have enough sex. I fear he might have been slightly pissed off about my contemplating sex with a dessert as opposed to seeking opportunities to have more sex with him.

I’ve always been a fan of creamy, custardy foods (see my previous post about Zest’s French toast), and am currently exploring a creme brulee/pots de creme fixation. I’ve downloaded a bunch of different flavored versions to try, but the chocolate pots de creme recipe below is my favorite thus far. They aren’t hard to make, they just take a little bit of time and, be forewarned, you will dirty some dishes in the process. I made my first attempt in ramekins; last night, I got creative and used little espresso cups. Very cute presentation, and it pays to make these in small portions because they are sooooo rich. Trust me, a little goes a long way. Don’t pay any attention to the calorie count. When you need a little slice of chocolate heaven, give this a try.

I’m open to other pots de creme or creme brulee recipes or suggestions… Feel free to send a comment!

Dark Chocolate Sex, er, I mean, Pots de Cremes

This makes about 6 ramekins or 10 espresso cups worth of chocolaty goodness.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. heavy cream
1 c. whole milk (or, I’ve just used 2 1/2 c. of Half and Half instead of the milk and cream mixture
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
7 oz. really good quality dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
6 large egg yolks
2 tb. white sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Bring the cream, milk (or Half and Half), cinnamon and vanilla to a low simmer in a saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate pieces until they are completely melted. (It will look like an outrageously good hot chocolate at this point.)

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together with a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Ladle a scoop of the hot chocolate cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper, then pour all of the egg yolks into the saucepan and whisk vigorously to fully blend. Whisk fast, or you’ll end up with chocolate scrambled eggs!

Pour the whole custard mixture through a sieve into a bowl and let cool slightly, stirring occasionally to get rid of as many air bubbles as you can. Pour the custard to fill 3/4 of the way up your ramekins or bakeable espresso cups.

Place the filled ramekins or cups into a glass baking dish and carefully pour enough boiling water into the baking dish (not the ramekins) to come about halfway up the containers and create a water bath for even cooking. Cover the whole thing with aluminum foil and poke a few holes in the top to allow steam to escape. Transfer it to oven and bake at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes. Custards should look set around the edges, but still be slightly jiggly in the middle. (Kind of like your thighs after you’ve just eaten five or six of these in a row.)

Uncover the custards and let cool to room temperature (about 30-45 minutes), then cover with foil again and refrigerate for at least 3 hours until well chilled.

The pots de creme look lovely when served with whipped cream and topped with a chocolate-covered espresso bean, or dusted with powdered sugar and topped with a fresh berry.