One morning in late January I woke up with the phrase pot au feu resounding in the canyons of my mind, accompanied by tantalizing visions of a creamy chocolate dessert. Once fully awake and caffeinated, I searched for “pot au feu” in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, only to discover it is the famed French dish of many poached meats and flavourful vegetables, served with the juice they are cooked in. Not creamy chocolate at all.
The elusive butterfly I chased was in fact “Pot de Crème au Chocolat,” a rich, deeply-satisfying dessert, served usually with whipped cream or crème fraîche. Clearly it had lodged somewhere deeply in my psyche, to emerge when needed. Aha. This creamy, chocolatey custard is just the thing to end a delicious Valentine’s Day evening, whether the classic candlelit dinner or a rowdy supper for eight. (In the latter case, we might call it “Palentine’s” or “Galentine’s” Day, terms for which we must thank Generation Z, according to my reading.)
There is no question that chocolate at Valentine’s is a cliché, but clichés become so for a reason; so I say, just lean in and embrace the cacao. After all, how many times in your life do you get to say, “Pot de Crème au Chocolat?”
A couple of cooking notes: there are oven-baked and stovetop versions of pot de crème. I prefer the stovetop option because it’s simpler: you don’t have to turn on the oven, prepare a bain marie, or prick holes in tinfoil for a covering. You do have to pay attention, though, and exercise patience when allowing the egg, cream and milk mixture to thicken. Don’t be tempted to go and do something else, lest it curdle.
The satisfying richness here comes partly from egg yolks—four of them—which means you will be left with four whites. What do you do with leftover egg whites? Make meringues! Espresso meringues are a good choice, providing a crunchy, smoky counterpoint to the chocolatey smoothness. Add a bit of whipped cream or crème fraîche and you’re Gucci, as the generation that invented “Palentine’s” would say.
Pot de Crème au Chocolat
Ingredients
- 4 oz dark chocolate
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Espresso Meringues
- 4 egg whites at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar or 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 2 tsp finely-ground espresso beans
- 1 tsp vanilla coffee extract or Kahlua
- 1 cup castor sugar substitute: granulated sugar, finely ground in a blender
Instructions
- Pot de Crème au Chocolat
- Chop chocolate into small pieces and reserve. Have ready 6 to 8 clean, 2- to 4-oz coffee cups or ramekins, or 4-oz mason jars.
- In a medium-sized pot, heat cream and milk over medium heat until it begins to steam, about 5 minutes.
- In a heat-proof bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar, salt and vanilla, until blended, and have it ready by the side of the stove.
- Whisking constantly, pour the heated cream mixture into the eggs. Once blended, pour the mixture back into the pot and return the pot to the heat.
- Stir the mixture constantly, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot, and cook until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, up to 10 minutes. You might have to lift the pot off the heat now and again to keep the mixture from curdling.*
- You will know it’s ready when the mixture thickens enough to provide some resistance to the spoon as you stir, or, as Thomas Keller writes, “a clean line is left behind when you draw your finger through the custard on the back of the spoon.”
- Place the chopped chocolate in the same bowl you used to whisk the eggs, and pour the thickened egg/cream mixture overtop.
- *If the mixture does curdle, take it off the heat, whisk vigorously and pour it through a fine-meshed strainer over the chocolate.
- Cover with a plate and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes to allow chocolate to melt. Remove the plate and whisk vigorously until all the chocolate has been incorporated and the custard is a uniform colour.
- Pour into a 4-cup measuring cup and then into the assembled jars and ramekins. Place on a baking tray, cover with plastic and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.
- Serve with a spoonful of whipped cream and a few espresso meringues on the side.
- Makes about 3 cups, enough for 6 to 8 servings.
- Espresso Meringues
- Preheat oven to 200F and line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Set racks in the middle of the oven.
- In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk egg whites, cream of tartar or lemon juice and salt, until foamy. Add espresso, vanilla or other flavouring, and two tablespoons sugar. Whisk until soft peaks form.
- Still whisking, add the remaining sugar one or two tablespoons at a time, until meringue is stiff and glossy.
- Drop with a coffee spoon onto the parchment paper, or spoon into a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe onto the paper. (If the parchment paper curls up or moves around, try anchoring the four corners with a dab of meringue underneath.)
- Bake for 90 minutes, turn off the heat, and allow the meringues to sit in the closed oven for up to 90 minutes, to thoroughly dry out.
- Store in a tin in the cupboard. Will keep for several days.
- Makes about 75 toonie-sized meringues.
