Chocolate Pots de Creme

Most dessert recipes make enough to feed a whole small country. Yes, I'm talking to you extra large bundt cakes and cookie recipes that make a batch of 4 dozen. Don't get me wrong. Sometimes I like having an endless amount of sinful treats around the house. Not to mention how much my boyfriend loves having sugary morsels that he insists he needs to taste test just to make sure that they haven't gone bad. But sometimes it's nice to have a single serving dessert. Something that won't send you into a sugar coma, but also won't leave you wanting more. This rich and decadent dessert is silky chocolate cream, and is accompanied by homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit. The perfect combination for a romantic dinner for two. 

Chocolate Pots de Creme

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 oz. dark or milk chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp. Grand Marnier liquer (optional)
• 2 large dollops of whipped cream
• fresh fruit (I used a few blackberries)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. 

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream until starting to bubble. Pour 1/3 of the hot cream over the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Let sit for one minute then stir until chocolate is completely melted. 

Pour the rest of the cream into the bowl with chocolate and whisk well until smooth and combined. 

Place the egg yolks into a small bowl. Add a little bit of the cream as you whisk the eggs. This will temper the eggs so that they don't scramble when you add them to the warm chocolate cream. Then add the eggs back into the cream mixture. Add the cream, chocolate, and egg mixture back into the saucepan that you used to heat up the cream in. 

Whisk the sugar and cocoa together. Then add this to saucepan mixture, cooking over low heat and whisking constantly for about 5 minutes, allowing the mixture to thicken. 

Add the Grand Marnier and the vanilla into the saucepan. Mix well, then pour the mixture evenly into 2 ramekins. Place the filled ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill the rimmed sheet with hot water until the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully place into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until they are set but still soft. 

Remove the ramekins from the rimmed sheet using oven its so you don't burn your hands. Place into the fridge to chill for 6 hours, or over night. Serve cold with fresh whipped cream and some fresh fruit.