This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was selected by Christine of Black Cat Cooking: chocolate pots de creme. I'd never had pots de creme, but instinctively I was pretty sure we were dealing with a chocolate pudding-like treat. Dorie was kind enough to explain the difference - pudding is cooked on the stove top and thickened with cornstarch while pots de creme are baked in the oven with eggs providing the stability. I also learned that pot de creme not only refers to the dessert, but also a small cup with a lid that is used to make this dessert. A very educational week indeed :)
We have a case of dessert overload here after the weekend, so I scaled way back and made 1/4 of the recipe. The chocolate pots de creme are made with chocolate, heavy cream, milk, eggs, sugar and salt. The only ingredient that was slightly tricky to scale was the eggs - the recipe calls for 1 whole egg and 5 yolks, so (on the advice of some Twitter friends) I went with 2 yolks. You can safely assume since I didn't know about a pot de creme cup, I don't own any, so I used ramekins. Dorie suggested 4-oz ramekins, but for some reason very few of my ramekins are labeled with their sizes so I always end up pouring in water to figure it out (one of these days I'll get smart and add little labels to the bottoms). The ramekins I wanted to use measured just under 4 oz and my 1/4 recipe filled 3 of them.
The pots de creme are baked, covered (I used foil rather than the plastic wrap suggested) and in a water bath, at a relatively low temperature (300 F). For reasons I can't explain, all of the water in my pan evaporated before the end of the cooking period and my ramekins baked more slowly than expected. They passed the jiggle test so I pulled them eventually, let them cool then refrigerated for a few hours. The surface was definitely set, but inside the texture was a bit more loose than I envisioned - definitely not as thick as any pudding I've had. Since I've never had pots de creme I can't say for certain, but I suspect mine were underbaked. This was one error that worked in my favor though - I don't like pudding, but I really enjoyed these pots de creme. They reminded me of soft serve chocolate ice cream and that is a VERY good thing in my book!
Thanks to Christine for hosting this week! She'll share the recipe on her blog today, or you can find it on pages 390-391 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.
23 comments:
They look lovely. I'd be wanting a piece of shortbread to dip in :)
Hmm, I've only had pots de creme once, and it was sorta thick and custard-like from what I remember. Either way my husband still, 3 years later, daydreams about it so...I guess it was pretty good! Which is what made me click here - this would make a great surprise treat for him.
These look SO wonderful! I never knew that it referred to that, either. ;)
I love the first picture...you can see a tiny reflection of you upside down in the spoon :).
Very pretty Tracey! I love those blue pots! I sort of wish I hadn't skipped this week!
the choc shavings really make these pop! lovely job.
Buttercreambarbie
What lovely little ramekins - you used great restraint in scaling this one down. I knew I wanted it all! Isn't this way better than plain chocolate pudding?
I was expecting something like chocolate pudding but these were so much better than that. Yours look perfect. Great pictures!
chocolate softserve- sounds awesome...I may have to under bake them next time!
they look beautiful! I skipped this week, but now I am jealous of your soft serve ice cream pudding!!
Oh, yeah!!! So much better than pudding! Gorgeous photos...
Looks wonderful - like a pro, Tracey! I think I overcooked mine - they just seemed so gooey, and jiggly. :) Very good though - if you like pudding, I though! Cream and the shavings are such a nice touch on your photos!
The first time I made them it took an hour but the second time I made them 42 minutes and they were done. Oh, well, I guess they tasted great both times as they are gone. Yours look very pretty and styled so nicely.
Soft serve chocolate ice cream? Hmmmm - I'm sold! They look amazing Tracey.
Those are really pretty! I am so impressed with its beauty! Thumbs up!
These look like little pots of goodness. I have this book so I am definitely checking out this recipe, and I just purchased the cutest little pots from Pier 1 so it is a sign that I have to make them :)
These are absolutely stunning! I'm working on a menu for a dinner party for my hubby's birthday in a few weeks, so I'll have to test this recipe out. Looks perfect for entertaining.
They look wonderful! My husband isn't a pudding guy, so I skipped this one, but maybe he would have liked them. Oh well!
I don't really like pudding either but loved these. Good job on scaling them back. I need to start doing that too!
Okay, I don't have to make these, since I already did. =P I love your little blue ramekins.
Love all your photos with the blue ramekins. I really liked these, too. My 1/4 recipe also made three small servings, which I tucked away into the fridge and enjoyed one a day for three days--didn't even offer them to anyone else, you know, since I have four kids and only had three desserts. ;)
Those look awesome. I love making pots de creme, they're so quick and delicious. I'd say the inside texture is sorta loose custard/pudding-y!
That looks positively heavenly. I don't think I've had pots de creme in a very long time. I'd love one right now!
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