Sriracha Pot de Cremes

Did you know that stressed spelled backwards is desserts?

After a long workweek sometimes all we need is a little bit of chocolate, or a brownie, or anything else sweet we can find. This week, we're making Pot de Cremes for 2! It's a super easy recipe (and can easily be doubled to make 4 or more).

What is a Pot de Creme? A Pot de Creme is a French dessert, and it's basically a chocolate custard that isn't fully "set," so it's still a little bit jiggly. This means it stays softer than if you were to cook it all the way through. It's somewhat similar to a mousse, while not quite as airy. The name literally means "pot of cream."

All you need is a few basic ingredients and two small ramekins for pouring the custards into! For a fun spicy twist, we've crushed up our Sriracha Peanuts to give it a bit of a kick and crunch! When making Pot de Cremes, you really want to use the highest quality chocolate that you can. The chocolate is the star of the show in this dish, so make sure you use something like our Dark Chocolate Sriracha bars.

For 2 Servings

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces high quality dark chocolate, like our Dark Chocolate Sriracha bars
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Have a deep, square baking dish with your ramekins inside nearby. I used a long loaf pan. Any pan works as long as the dish sits inside evenly and you can fill it with water.

Chop up your chocolate as well as your Sugar Plum Sriracha Peanuts very finely. This will help the chocolate melt quicker and evenly, and the peanuts will incorporate into the fine texture better. You could even pulse them in the food processor or blender a few quick times. Set the peanuts aside until later. In a small to medium sized heat proof bowl, whisk your egg yolks, salt and sugar. Set aside.

Simmer the cream on low heat - don't burn it! Once it starts bubbling, turn off the heat. Pour only the chocolate over the top of the cream and begin whisking. It should all melt down rather quickly, but if it doesn't you can throw it back on a very low flame for a few seconds until that chocolate is completely melted.

Very carefully, pour a bit of the melted chocolate mixture into the egg yolks and whisk immediately. This is called "tempering." You temper about 1/4 - 1/2 of the chocolate into the egg yolk while whisking, then pour it back into the pot with the rest of the melted chocolate and cream. The reason you do this is because if you added the eggs directly to the melted chocolate, they would scramble from the heat!

A very important step for texture purposes is to now strain your egg and chocolate mixture through a fine sieve. This removes any impurities and allows for the finest of textures. After straining, fold the crushed nuts into the chocolate and pour into your prepared ramekins. Fill the baking dish with water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This is a water bath and prevents fast changes of temperature that may burn the chocolate. Bake the Pot de Cremes on 300 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until the outer edge is set and the middle is still wiggling. Cool and refrigerate after baking. Garnish with a bit of whipped cream and some more of our Sriracha Peanuts! Bon appétit!