Rich Chocolate Pots de Crème with Chocolate Shavings
By Joe
Source: America's Test Kitchen.
Deep, dense chocolate pots de crème made from a stirred custard poured over dark chocolate, finished with chocolate shavings.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Set up. put the chopped chocolate in the heatproof bowl and rest the sieve over it.
- 2
Custard. whisk the yolks, sugar and salt, then whisk in the cream and milk. Cook in the pan over medium-low heat, stirring and scraping the base constantly, 8-12 min, until it thickens to a silky coat on the spoon and reads 80-82 °C. Never let it simmer. At 80-82 °C the yolks thicken the custard and are safely cooked.
- 3
Combine. pour it at once through the sieve onto the chocolate, leave 5 min, then whisk gently until smooth with the vanilla and espresso. Resting first lets the chocolate melt without overmixing.
- 4
Chill. divide between the ramekins, tap to level, cool 15 min, then cover and chill at least 4 h.
- 5
Finish. rest at room temperature 20 min, then shave the extra chocolate over the tops with the peeler. A short rest at room temperature softens the texture and lifts the flavour.
Storage
Cover and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Add the shavings just before serving.
EU nutrition claims
- Low salt: 0.28 g salt per 100 g (limit ≤ 0.3 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 95 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Caffeine · Free sugars
- Per serving: about 2 mg caffeine (serving: 1 of 8 servings). Source: 0.5 g instant coffee/espresso powder × USDA FDC SR Legacy #171893 (instant coffee powder, 3142 mg/100 g); divided by 8 servings.
- Scaling: making more servings does not change the caffeine in each serving; what counts is how many servings you drink in a day. 1 serving: 2 mg · 2 servings: 4 mg · 3 servings: 6 mg · 4 servings: 8 mg.
- General guideline: EFSA Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine (2015): for healthy adults, up to 200 mg in a single dose and up to 400 mg per day do not raise safety concerns. 1 serving = 1 % of 400 mg. EFSA
16 g per serving
32 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 64 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- medium heatproof bowl
- fine sieve
- medium bowl
- whisk
- medium saucepan
- wooden spoon
- instant-read thermometer
- 8 x 120 ml ramekins
- cling film
- vegetable peeler
Nutrition per serving Calculated from USDA FoodData Central
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 443 kcal |
| Protein | 6.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 26.6 g |
| of which sugars | 18.6 g |
| of which free sugars | 16 g |
| Fat | 34.7 g |
| of which saturates | 20.4 g |
| Fibre | 3.8 g |
| Salt | 0.27 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.4 g High protein needs ≥ 5 g per 100 kcal (20% of energy) and ≥ 10 g per serving
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
