Author Pam - For the Love of Cooking / Original from America's Test Kitchen
Equipment
8 (5-oz) Ramekins
Strainer
Heavy-Bottomed Saucepan
Hand mixer
Ingredients
Chocolate Pots de Crème:
10ozbittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
5largeegg yolks
⅓cupwhite sugar
¼tspsalt
1½cupsheavy cream
¾cuphalf & half
1tbspvanilla extract
½tspinstant espresso, mixed with 1 tbsp water
Whipped Cream:
½cupheavy cream**make sure it's very cold
1½tbsppowdered sugar
½vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped with back of knife**½ tsp vanilla extract works well too
Instructions
Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl and set aside.
Whisk the egg yolks, white sugar, and salt together until creamy and smooth. Add the heavy cream and half & half then whisk until well combined. Pour the mixture into a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, until thickened and silky and the custard has reached a temperature of 175-180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 8-12 minutes. Do not let custard overcook or simmer!
Immediately pour the custard over the chopped chocolate. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, until melted.
Whisk gently until smooth, then whisk in the vanilla and espresso. Divide mixture evenly among 8 (5 oz) ramekins. Gently tap the ramekins on the counter to remove air bubbles.
Cool the chocolate pots de crème to room temperature then cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours up to 72 hours. Before serving. let chocolate pots de crème stand at room temperature 20-30 minutes.
Make whipped cream by combining the ice-cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla bean seeds together in a bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until it forms soft peaks.
Serve the chocolate pots de crème with a dollop of whipped cream and some chocolate shavings, if desired. Enjoy.