Pot De Creme Recipe

Warm dairy and melt chocolate

Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Place chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, combine whole milk and heavy cream and warm over medium heat until it just begins to steam and small bubbles appear around the edge (do not boil), about 5 minutes.

Temper chocolate

Pour about one third of the hot milk mixture over the chopped chocolate. Let sit 30 seconds, then whisk until smooth and fully melted. Set aside.

Whisk yolks and sugar

In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks with granulated sugar and a pinch of salt until mixture is pale and slightly thickened, about 1–2 minutes.

Temper yolks

Slowly pour the remaining hot milk mixture into the yolks in a thin stream while whisking constantly to temper the yolks and prevent scrambling. Once combined, pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan and stir over low heat for 1 minute to slightly thicken (do not boil).

Combine chocolate and custard

Pour the warm custard through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl with the melted chocolate, stirring until completely smooth. Stir in vanilla extract.

Portion and bake in water bath

Place four 4- to 6-ounce ramekins in a roasting pan. Divide the chocolate custard evenly among the ramekins. Carefully pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil.

Bake

Bake in the preheated oven until set at the edges but still slightly wobbly in the center, about 25–30 minutes (time varies by oven and ramekin size). A thermometer inserted near the center should read about 175°F (80°C) if you prefer a precise check.

Cool and chill

Carefully remove ramekins from the water bath and let cool on a wire rack until room temperature, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate uncovered (or loosely covered) for at least 3 hours or up to 48 hours to fully set and develop flavor.

Before serving, top each pot de crème with about 1 tablespoon whipped cream. Sprinkle a pinch of coarse sea salt and grate a little chocolate or dust with cocoa powder for garnish.