chocolate pots de creme

christopher kimball's "the dessert bible" is full of amazing and very, very, very, very fussy recipes (as well as a few no-brainers) and articles which, unlike the cook's illustrated articles on which many of the recipes are likely based, need to be read in their entirety lest you miss an important step (like "gyre and gimbal the tepid mome raths for 45 seconds, just until they starts to turn cloudy and the souls of bakers past whistle past in the alley outside) and ruin the entire dessert. but, perhaps, i digress.

chocolate pots de creme is one of those recipes. yet, i had two dozen eggs, three pints of heavy cream, and most of a gallon of milk left over from my christmas party, and creme caramel or pots du creme were the obvious candidates to help get rid of the excess dairy. i've had some frustrating experiences making the caramel for creme caramel before, and i have chocolate lying around, so...yum.

amusingly, the ingredients list calls for 1 tsp vanilla, but never uses it. i'd substitute a split vanilla bean and seeds, added during the cream/milk simmering portion; it will all get strained later anyway.

serves 6 (6 oz ramekins)

2 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 c heavy cream
1 c whole milk
4 large eggs
2 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 c sifted dutch-process cocoa powder

heat oven to 350 and line a roasting pan with a thin layer of kitchen towel or paper towels (the recipe claims there needs to be enough space in the pan so that each ramekin doesn't touch its neighbor; i'm cranky and impatient and didn't actually use a large enough roasting pan and noticed no awful consequences).

add cream and milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a simmer; while that is heating, melt chocolate using microwave or double-boiler, being careful not to overheat.

stir cocoa powder into melted chocolate, then combine eggs, sugar, salt, and chocolate/cocoa mixture in a medium-sized mixing bowl until; do not over-mix and aerate the liquid (problems that can occur here include the chocolate solidifying - you can use the warm milk and cream in the next step to melt it again).

start to temper the mixture by slowly adding a 1/2 c of the simmering milk/cream to the chocolate. mix slowly to combine, then add the rest of the hot milk in a slow stream, again being careful not to incorporate air bubbles. strain the combined mixture into a large measuring cup or pitcher, then pour into the ramekins.

cover each ramekin with a perforated piece of aluminum foil. fill the roasting pan with very hot tap water until the water reaches 2/3rds the way up the sides of the ramekins.

the baking part of this is very exciting and fussy as well. start checking on the custards after 20m; they are done when the center of the custard quivers gently when shaken, but they will cook at different rates, so you should be checking them regularly every few minutes after about 30m or so. take each out as it is done, and try not to burn yourself on the roasting pan, the ramekin, the water bath, or the oven. good luck!