I was inspired by what chef Robert Irvine did in the elimination round of Chopped All Stars when he was up against chef Anne Burrell. Well, I was rooting for chef Anne (something about her attitude in the kitchen is just so gripping) but chef Robert's dessert looked so good I almost licked my tv screen. Sigh!!! For those not familiar with the show, every chopped episode starts with 4 chefs. They are asked to first make appetizer, then main course, and finally dessert. After each round, one is "chopped" so that at the very end there is one winner. The twist is that they have to use all the mysterious ingredients that are given to them for each round. Anyway, I can't remember exactly what were in the basket when dessert round came. All I can remember is the end product: small, cute, and certainly mouth-watering pots de crème. Chef Robert created a twist when he added ground black pepper to the whipped cream. After watching that episode, I swore I'd make pots de crème soon. And I thought about adding cayenne pepper instead. I'm pretty sure people have done this before but hey, I didn't look it up in a recipe book or on the internet so I'm just going to claim that it's my creation for now ;)
The "problem" with pots de crème is that they are extremely rich and I wasn't going to make a multitude of them and then eat them all by myself so I was patiently waiting for a chance. And then came 2 willing guinea pigs, I meant lunch guests. So I made nem nướng, Vietnamese skewered pork wrapped in lettuce and herbs, and served with peanut-based dipping sauce (recipe to follow soonish, I promise) and pots de crème for dessert. So here it is:
INGREDIENTS:
Make about 8 servings
For the pots de creme:
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
5 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
For the whipped cream:
1.5 cup whipping cream
2 oz white chocolate
Cayenne pepper
METHOD:
Place rack in the center of the oven, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl, melt the chocolate over gently simmering water. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan over low heat until the mixture is about to boil.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt until the sugar dissolves completely. Temper the egg mixture with the cream. (See, I'm learning the lingo here.) That is, add the cream mixture very slowly to the egg mixture while whisking constantly. This is to prevent the hot cream from cooking the eggs.
Now, add the egg+cream mixture slowly over a strainer to the chocolate. Keep whisking constantly.
Ladle the chocolate mixture into 8 6oz ramekins (or specialized pots for pots de creme).
Line the bottom of a baking pan with paper towels. Place the filled ramekins over the towels, add hot water to the pan so that it reaches about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the entire pan with foil.
Carefully place the pan onto the rack and bake until the mixture around the edges of the ramekin is firm when slightly shaken. (This takes about 30-35 min but it depends on your oven temperature and the thickness of your ramekins.) It's okay if the middle still jiggles. Carefully remove the ramekins and let them cool. Once they have cooled down, chill them in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
Melt the white chocolate, let cool to room temperature. Whip the whipping cream in a chilled bowl until soft peaks are form. Fold in the chocolate and whip till stiff peaks are formed. If you are willing to try whipped cream with cayenne pepper, add about 1tsp of cayenne pepper near the end of the whipping process.
Serve the chilled pots de creme with a spoonful of whipped cream on top. Bon appetit!!!
I have a feeling fine fleur de sel (or bacon bits if you are feeling even more adventurous) would make a great variation for the whipped cream topping too!
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