A Chocolate Dessert to Die For
Chocolate pot de creme was the first dessert my wife, Laurie, made for me when we began dating. Not only did she win my heart with this delightful dish, but she also introduced me to a French dessert that is heavenly. It was a culinary moment I'll never forget.
Easy Chocolate Pots de Creme Recipe
Having a smooth rich texture, and usually found on dessert menus at French restaurants, chocolate pot de creme is a chocolate lover's dream dessert. Unfortunately, the delicate technique and chemistry of making custards can frustrate both inexperienced cooks and experienced chefs. Custard-making grievances are often the result of a sporadic use of heat or an unpredictable heat source. To get a custard texture egg proteins require a slow temperature rise so a fine mesh of egg protein can form. Too much heat too quickly creates a scrambled egg-like sludge. This is why custards are regularly baked in bath water; to slow the velocity of a rising temperature.
Formulating the Sous Vide Chocolate Pot de Creme
Fortunately, with the easy accessibility of next-generation sous vide precision cookers, chefs now have full temperature control so the right custard texture can easily be realized time and again.
Soon after purchasing my Anova precision cooker in 2017, I stumbled across other cooks on the Internet that were using the sous vide technique to make creme brulee with perfect consistency. Adopting the precise cooking technique others had employed for creme brulee, my wife and I reverse-engineered a simple sous vide recipe for a chocolate pots de creme. After a few batches, we were able to substitute custard-making frustration for a dependably uniform, delicious and easy-to-make chocolate pot de creme.
The following pots de creme recipe is designed specifically for a sous vide cooker. Although the sous vide method does provide a much wider tolerance for error, this method isn't fool-proof. So, pay attention to technique and cooking times when progressing through the recipe steps.
Sous Vide Chocolate Pots de Creme
Servings: 8
Calories: 354kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 5 ounces 72% cacao chocolate
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat sous vide water to 158 degrees.
- Bring cream and milk to just a simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate, whisk until melted and smooth.
- Whisk yolks, sugar and salt in large bowl until blended.
- Gradually whisk in hot chocolate mixture until well-incorporated.
- Ladle into 4oz. mason jars - should fill 8 jars.
- Seal jars with lids, and lower into sous vide-heated water. Ensure all jars are fully submerged. Cook for 90 minutes.
- Remove jars from water bath and let cool 15-30 minutes on cooling rack. Serve (with or without topping) or store in refrigerator for future.
Notes
If stacking jars is necessary, be sure to rotate their position periodically during the sous vide process.
Nutrition
Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 211mg | Sodium: 45mg | Potassium: 215mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 907IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 2mg
Pots de Crème Recipe Tips
Pot de Crème Toppings
Feel free to serve this dessert topped with whipped cream or sea salt.
Sous vide the Custard in Portion-size Jars
Use 4-ounce mason jars with rubber lids for cooking in sous vide water bath. Before submerging the jars into the bath, ensure the lids are air-tight so water cannot seep in, but not so tight that it'll be difficult to remove lids.
Rotate Stacked Jars
If jars are stacked in the water bath during the cooking process, be sure to rotate the positions of the top and bottom jars once or twice. The custard base cooks best when covered by 1 to 2 inches of water. Uneven cooking will result if the jars aren't rotated.
Let Loose Chocolate Custard Set in Refrigerator Before Serving
Chocolate pots de creme is best served warm, after short cooling. However, even after the cooling period, some jars may have custard that's looser than expected. Let the custard in these jars fully set up over-night in the refrigerator before serving.
It was simple but it didn’t work . It never set up. It’s still liquid essentially. Ot may have been due to a change on my end though. I didn’t have whole milk , so I replaced a quarter cup of milk with 1/4 cup of whipping cream.
Yes, changes in the milk’s fat content can cause issues. Additionally, I’ve noticed that rotating the jars during the process is crucial. Without rotation, some jars may set properly while others only partially set. I’ll be retesting this recipe soon to address any potential problems. For reference, I typically test recipes at least four times before publishing to ensure consistency and accuracy.