Lemon Caramel Pots De Crème Food

SALTED CARAMEL POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Heat the heavy cream, milk, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until just starting to bubble. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
• Make the caramel: Combine the sugar and 1/4 cup water in another small saucepan over medium heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally but not stirring, until amber, about 10 minutes. Brush any sugar crystals off the side of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Remove from the heat and carefully whisk in the warm cream mixture (the mixture will bubble). Add the chocolate and stir until smooth.
• Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk about half of the caramel into the yolks, then add the remaining caramel and whisk until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large liquid measuring cup.
• Divide the mixture among six 6-ounce ramekins. Set the ramekins in a large baking dish, then add enough hot water to come about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until the pots de creme are set around the edges but still jiggle in the center, 45 to 50 minutes.
• Remove the ramekins from the water and let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with salt.

CARAMEL POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• Center a rack in oven, and heat to 300 degrees. Put 8 4-ounce custard cups or ramekins in a large roasting pan, and set aside. Combine cream and milk, and warm them in a microwave oven or on the stove top.
• Measure out 1/4 cup sugar, and set aside. Place a heavy-bottom metal pot over medium-high heat, and sprinkle in about 2 tablespoons sugar. As soon as sugar melts and starts to caramelize, stir. When color is uniform, stir in 2 more tablespoons sugar, and continue to stir until it is melted and colored. Continue with remaining sugar. When all sugar is mahogany color, stand away from pot, and stir in warm liquid bit by bit. Mixture will bubble furiously and may form lumps; stir to smooth it out. Remove from heat.
• Place yolks, eggs and reserved 1/4 cup sugar in a very large measuring cup with a lip, and whisk to blend. Still whisking, stir in caramel liquid. Skim off foam, and fill custard cups. Set into roasting pan and pour enough hot tap water into pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Cover pan with plastic wrap or foil, poke 2 holes in opposite corners, and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until tops darken and custards jiggle a little in center when tapped. Cool custards in refrigerator; serve at room temperature.

LEMON CARAMEL POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• Position rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Have ready 6 1/2-cup ramekins or pots-de-crème cups and a baking pan large enough to hold them.
• In a saucepan, bring the cream, zest and coriander seeds just to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 10 minutes.
• In a heavy saucepan, heat the sugar and a 1/4 cup water over medium heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and boil, without stirring, until the mixture becomes deep amber, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush and swirling the pan. Carefully whisk in the cream combination. (The mixture will sputter, so be careful.) Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, until the caramel dissolves. Remove pan from heat.
• Gently whisk together yolks, lemon juice and salt. Very slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture. Strain through a fine sieve or layers of cheesecloth. Let stand about 3 minutes, then spoon off any foam.
• Divide custard among the ramekins, cover with foil (or put lids on the cups) and place them in the baking pan. Add enough hot tap water to come halfway up the sides of ramekins. Bake until custards are just set around edges but trembling in the centers, 40 to 45 minutes for ramekins, 30 to 35 minutes for the cups.
• Remove from the oven and remove ramekins from pan. Let cool and refrigerate, loosely covered, at least 3 hours and up to 24. Serve without unmolding.

CARAMEL POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, over medium heat, cook the sugar, water and vanilla bean until it turns a deep caramel color. Swirl pan to color evenly, do not stir.
• When caramel in color, turn off the heat and slowly add milk and cream. Be careful, it will splatter. If caramel hardens, turn on the heat and stir until harden caramel dissolves and the mixture boils. Once it reaches a boil, remove from the heat.
• In a bowl, mix yolks, salt and vanilla extract. Slowly temper in caramel mixture, adding a small amount at a time, to prevent yolks from scrambling. Mix to combine, then strain through a fine mesh strainer.
• Fill 6 (4-ounce) ramekins with the creme mixture. Place them in a high-sided baking dish and fill baking dish 1/2 full with boiling water. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until set. The middle should jiggle slightly. Remove, let cool and refrigerate.

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.

POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Place the chocolate chips in a blender. Add the brandy, vanilla, salt and eggs and turn on the blender.
• While it is blending, remove the circular disk from the blender lid and very slowly pour in the very hot coffee. (It is essential that the coffee be extremely hot in order for the final product to be the right consistency and texture.) Blend until the mixture is smooth and fairly free of visible bits of chocolate, 20 to 30 seconds.
• Pour the mixture into 3 large glasses, such as snifters, or 10 demitasse cups, leaving plenty of room to add a heap of whipped cream later. Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 hours so the mixture has a chance to set.
• Before serving, spoon in the Brandy Whipped Cream and decorate with shaved chocolate
• Add the heavy cream and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip until it forms soft peaks. Add the brandy and mix in.

LEMON POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Stir together lemon juice, zest and sugar until sugar is dissolved. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and cream until blended. Stir in lemon juice mixture. Pour mixture into four 1/2 cup custard cups or ramekins.
• Place a rack in the insert of a large slow cooker, or crush a sheet of aluminum foil into a ring shape and place that on the bottom of the insert. Carefully place cups on the rack (if using foil, you may need to make two rings, one slightly smaller inside the other). Pour about 1 inch of hot water into the cooker, being careful not to splash water into the cups.
• Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or until the creams are softly set and slightly jiggly in the center. Uncover and let stand for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the cups from the cooker, wearing sturdy rubber gloves so as not to burn your fingers.
• Cover and refrigerate until chilled, 2 hours, or up to 3 days, before serving.

LEMON POT DE CREME

Steps:

• Place butter, sugar, lemon juice and 3 egg yolks in a double boiler; stir constantly with a stainless steel whisk or wooden spatula over medium heat until pudding turns very thick (if you drop some of the mixture onto the rest of the pudding in the pan it will form an unmoving ribbon on the surface); DON'T let mixture boil.
• Pour pudding into a bowl; stir in lemon zest and let it cool by placing the bottom of the bowl in cool water.
• Beat the egg white with a pinch of salt until stiff and glossy; gently fold into pudding and fill 4 pot de creme pots; place plastic wrap on surface of pudding in each cup and refrigerate until chilled.
• For an optional garnish, pipe a small rosette of whipped cream in the center of each pot and encircle the rosette with chopped pistachio nuts.

LEMON POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• In a mixing bowl, vigorously whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar together.
• When the mixture is thoroughly blended, whisk in the lemon juice, then the cream.
• Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer.
• Add the lemon zest.
• Pour the mixture into 8 6-oz. custard cups or ramekins.
• Place them in a baking pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cups.
• Cover the pan loosely with foil and bake until the custard is just set, 40 to 45 minutes. The custard should still be soft in the center when lightly shaken. (It will continue to set as it cools.).
• Remove from the baking pan and cool.

LEMON MERINGUE POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• Heat half-and-half to just under a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or a double boiler. In a mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk well until creamy, a minute or two.
• Slowly whisk 1/2 cup of hot half-and-half into egg-sugar mixture, then add remaining half-and-half and mix well. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, until custard is thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter, lemon zest and lemon juice. Spoon custard into 6 4-ounce ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and up to several hours. (May be done even a day ahead.)
• Combine chopped pistachios with 1 tablespoon sugar. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put egg whites in mixing bowl and add 3 remaining tablespoons sugar. Beat whites to stiff peaks. Spoon a pile of meringue onto each custard-filled ramekin, using all the meringue. Sprinkle with pistachio-sugar mixture. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the tops are browned. (May be baked just before guests arrive, then kept at room temperature until time for dessert.)

SALTED CARAMEL POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Place eight 1/2-cup (4-ounce) ovenproof cups, custard cups, or ramekins in a large baking pan.
• 2. In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar and kosher salt. Using the tip of a small sharp knife, scrape the vanilla seeds from the bean, add to the butter mixture, and drop in the bean too. Stir for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture has the texture of thick sand and has taken on a nutty, caramel fragrance.
• 3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gradually whisk in the cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously and will seize when the cream is added. Whisk for about 5 minutes, or until the hardened sugar bits dissolve and the mixture begins to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the milk.
• 4. In a large bowl, stir the egg yolks to blend. Gradually whisk in the warm caramel mixture. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a 4-cup liquid measuring cup or a bowl with a spout. Pour the custard into the cups, dividing it equally. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, leaving one corner uncovered. Place the pan in the oven and carefully pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups, then cover the open corner with the foil. Bake the custards for about 50 minutes, or until they are just set around the edges but still jiggle slightly when the cups are gently shaken. (Be very careful of escaping steam when you uncover the pan.)
• 5. Remove the cups from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool, about 1 hour. Cover each cup with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours, or up to 2 days.
• 6. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over each pot de crème and serve chilled.
• Storing:
• The pots de crème can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.