Coffee Pots De Creme Food

TURKISH COFFEE POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Bring 1 2/3 cups cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat, add the cardamom, cover and let steep 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bring a small pot or kettle of water to a boil. Place a folded damp kitchen towel in a 2-quart baking dish; arrange 8 espresso cups in the dish (the towel will keep the cups from moving).
• Whisk the egg yolks and salt in a bowl. Return the cream to medium heat, add the sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Strain the cream into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Stir in the espresso and vanilla until combined. Transfer to a liquid measuring cup, then divide among the espresso cups.
• Place the baking dish in the oven and pour boiling water into the dish until it reaches halfway up the outside of the espresso cups. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake until the custard sets around the edges but still jiggles in the center, 35 to 45 minutes.
• Let the custards cool in the water bath, about 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Cover each cup with parchment paper (to absorb condensation), and then plastic wrap. Refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.
• Whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream and the confectioners' sugar with a mixer until soft peaks form. Top each pot de creme with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with pistachios.

POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Place the chocolate in a blender. Whisk the milk, 1 cup cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar and salt in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula and almost boiling, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Immediately pour the milk mixture over the chocolate in the blender. Cover and hold the lid with a thick kitchen towel; blend until combined and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Divide the chocolate mixture among ramekins or small cups and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
• Whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream and the confectioners' sugar with a mixer or in the blender until soft peaks form. Top the chilled pots de creme with whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE AND COFFEE POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Bring the cream and sugar to a boil with the vanilla bean in a saucepan.
• Whisk yolks in a bowl. Whisk about a third of the boiling cream into the yolks. Return remaining cream to a boil and whisk in yolk mixture. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, another 15 or 20 seconds, until slightly thickened.
• Strain cream into a bowl and add chocolate. Whisk smooth, whisk in coffee, and pour into molds. Refrigerate until cooled.
• Serve the pots de creme alone, or with a crisp cookie. Storage suggestion: For advance preparation, cover the pots de creme with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Uncover and leave at room temperature for an hour before serving

COFFEE-CARDAMOM POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Put the coffee beans and cardamom pods in the work bowl of a food processor and pulse on and off several times to roughly chop -- not grind -- them. Turn the chopped beans and pods into a medium saucepan and add 1/2 cup of the sugar. Put the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the sugar starts to melt. Once the sugar has melted, continue to cook, still stirring without stop, until the sugar caramelizes -- you want the color of the caramel to be deep amber, almost mahogany. Now, standing away from the stove so you don't get splattered, slowly pour in 1 cup of the cream and the milk. Don't panic -- the caramel will immediately seize and harden, but it will all smooth out as the liquids warm and the sugar melts again. Bring the mixture to a boil and, when the sugar has melted and everything is smooth again, pull the pan from the heat. Cover the pan (we do this with plastic wrap at the cafe to get a good seal) and allow the mixture to infuse for 20 minutes.
• Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Working in a bowl that's large enough to hold all the ingredients, whisk the yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar together until the mixture is pale and thick. Strain the coffee-cardamom liquid into a measuring cup (discard the beans and pods) and add enough heavy cream to bring the liquid up to 2 cups. Very gradually and very gently -- you don't want to create air bubbles -- whisk the liquid into the egg mixture; skim off the top foam, if there is any.
• Arrange six 4-ounce espresso or custard cups in a small roasting pan, leaving an even amount of space between them, and fill each cup nearly to the top with the custard mixture. Carefully slide the pan into the oven; then, using a pitcher, fill the roasting pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the espresso cups. Cover the pan with plastic wrap (don't worry -- it can stand the heat) and poke two holes in two opposite corners. Bake the custards for about 40 minutes, or until the edges darken ever so slightly and the custards are set but still jiggle a little in the center when you shake them gently.
• Remove the pan from the oven and let the custards sit in the water bath for 10 minutes. Peel off the plastic wrap, lift the cups out of the water, and cool the custards in the refrigerator. (The pots de creme can be prepared a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator; when they are cool, cover them with plastic wrap.)
• To serve: The pots de creme are at their best at room temperature, so remove them from the refrigerator and keep them on the counter for about 20 minutes before serving.
• To drink: A deluxe cream sherry, perhaps a Pedro Ximenez

CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 300°F.
• Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream, milk, espresso powder (to taste), and a pinch of salt just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until espresso powder is dissolved, then pour over chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
• Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in another bowl, then add warm chocolate mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-quart glass measure and cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
• Line bottom of a baking pan (large enough to hold ramekins) with a folded kitchen towel and arrange ramekins on towel. Poke several holes in a large sheet of foil with a skewer. Divide custard among ramekins, then bake custards in a hot water bath , pan covered tightly with foil, until custards are set around edges but still slightly wobbly in centers, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Transfer ramekins to a rack to cool completely, uncovered, about 1 hour. (Custards will set as they cool.) Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.
• *Available at some supermarkets, specialty foods shops, and The Baker's Catalogue (800-827-6836).