Chocolate Pots de Creme

I occasionally get this idea in my head that I'm totally capable of making some fancy dessert or meal. I feel like I have been temporarily granted the skills of an expert chef and that my creations will turn out exactly like the pictures in the recipes.

Sadly...this rarely happens.

I get all excited and go about the preparations for baking/cooking, and I get the recipe underway, but somewhere along the line, something happens, and my fancy shmancy recipe turns out less than fancy...I suppose this could be an exercise in not letting my baking ego get too big, right?

Anyway, this was one of those occasions. Just the name, "Pots de Creme" sounds super fancy and international.  Luckily we were able to make the most out of a less than perfect situation. I whipped these up as a Friday night treat, and with most frozen desserts, I knew they would likely take a while to chill in the fridge, so I made them in the afternoon as opposed to the evening. Now, in my research on "Pots de Creme", I was informed that they are slightly less thick than a typical flan. Perhaps I didn't leave them to set long enough, or something went wrong in the preparation, but they didn't exactly set...at all. They only thickened slightly, but stayed runnier than I was hoping. These were still pretty delicious, even if they didn't reach the exact thickness/consistency that I wanted.

If you're looking for a challenge, I invite you to attempt this recipe, and then tell me how it went! Did the recipe work out for you?

How your Pots should look with the plastic wrap on them

Chocolate Pots de Creme

Yields 5-6 servings

Ingredients:

2/3 cup granulated sugar

6 Tbsp cocoa

1 cup light cream

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

Whipped cream, to garnish

Directions:

1) In a saucepan, combine sugar and cocoa, then gradually add the cream. Stir constantly over a medium heat until the mixture just begins to boil.

2) Remove from heat. Gradually stir in egg yolks (be sure that there is no egg whites in your yolks. These will cook when you add the eggs to the chocolate and you'll have egg pieces floating in your chocolate mixture. Not yummy at all...). Add butter and vanilla, and blend well.

3) Pour mixture into 5-6 teacups or creme pots. Cover with plastic wrap, and make sure the wrap is touching the surface of the mixture in the cup.

4) Chill for several hours, until mixture has set.

5) Garnish with whipped cream and serve cold.


(Recipe adapted from Hershey's Fabulous Desserts)