Mexican Chocolate Pots De CrÈme Food

CHOCOLATE 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.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Position your oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Slice the two chile peppers in half and carefully remove the seeds. Combine 2 cups of the cream, sugar, chiles and the espresso powder in a heavy medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer while you whisk, dissolving the espresso powder. Once simmering, remove from the heat and remove the chiles with a slotted spoon and discard. Add the chocolate and stir until it is melted and smooth. Set aside.
• Select a large bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla, almond extract, cinnamon and salt until well blended. Whisk in the chocolate mixture. Strain the mixture into a large 4-cup measuring cup.
• Place 6-8 custard cups or ramekins in a large roasting pan at least 2" deep. Divide the mixture evenly among the cups. Pour enough hot water in the pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Place in oven and bake until the custard is just set around the edges, approximately 25 - 35 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven. Remove cups from the pan and allow them to cool. Cover and chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours and as long as overnight.
• To Serve: Whip cream until soft peaks form. Spoon creme into a pastry bag with a star shaped tip. Pipe one star in the middle of each cup.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, bring cream, milk, espresso powder, and spices to a gentle simmer; cook 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium and bring mixture to a boil, then remove from heat and stir in coffee liquer.
• Put chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and pour hot cream over it. Let stand 1 minute, then stir until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Slowly drizzle yolk mixture into chocolate mixture, whisking constantly. Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl and let cool at room temperature 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a kettle or small pot, bring about 4 cups water to a simmer. Arrange a dish towel in the bottom of a 9-by 13-in. baking pan. Set ramekins on top of towel (this helps keep them in place), then fill each ramekin with custard. Pour simmering water into pan so that it comes halfway up sides of ramekins. Set pan in oven and bake pots de creme until their edges are set but their centers are still wobbly, about 25 minutes; do not overbake. Transfer ramekins to a cooling rack and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then chill in refrigerator until fully set, about 3 hours.

CHOCOLATE POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• In a small nonmetal bowl stir together light cream, chopped chocolate, sugar and salt.
• Micro-cook, uncovered, on 100% power about 1 minute or till chocolate is melted, stirring after 30 seconds.
• Stir about HALF of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolk.
• Return all to the bowl, mixing well.
• Micro-cook, uncovered, on 50% power for 1 to 2 minutes or till thickened, stirring every 15 seconds.
• Stir in vanilla.
• Pour into pot de creme cup or 6 ounce custard cup.
• Cover and chill for several hours or till firm.
• Garnish with whipped cream, if desired.
• NOTE:
• SELECTING THE RIGHT CHOCOLATE: You'll find three basic types of chocolate in the baking supplies department of most supermarkets-- semisweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, and sweet chocolate.
• The semisweet chocolate is made from chocolate that is just slight sweetened with sugar.
• Unsweetened chocolate is the original baking or cooking chocolate and has no added flavorings or sugar.
• And sweet chocolate, such as the German cooking chocolate used in the Chocolate Pots de Creme recipe, is chocolate mixed with sugar and sometimes additional cocoa butter or flavorings.

CHOCOLATE POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Bring cream and milk just to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk yolks and sugar in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot chocolate mixture. Strain mixture into another bowl. Cool 10 minutes, skimming any foam from surface.
• Divide custard mixture among six 3/4-cup custard cups or soufflé dishes. Cover each with foil. Place cups in large baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Bake until custards are set but centers still move slightly when gently shaken, about 55 minutes. Remove from water. Remove foil. Chill custards until cold, about 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)