Chocolate Raspberry Pots de Creme
One thing I love about living in Asheville, North Carolina is that it attracts food lovers. People visit here for all sorts of food festivals throughout the year. Others come to stay; opening restaurants, farming, attending culinary school, and producing artisan cheeses. With so many taking part in this “Foodtopian Society” as we call it, there is never a lack for delicious conversation or cooking buddies.
Debby Maugans is just such a friend. She moved to Asheville from Birmingham, Alabama, and is an avid member of our food culture. She’s been developing recipes for years as the author of the Birmingham News, Table for Two, and is passionate about good eats.
As an ardent food writer and author of three cookbooks: Beyond the Breakfast Bowl, the very popular Small-Batch Baking, and now Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers, Debby’s recipes are tried-and-true and easy to follow.
Debby would tell you Small-Batch Baking was inspired by her teenage daughter who would ask for homemade chocolate brownies a couple times a week. She would eat a brownie or two, then leave the rest of the pan sitting around for Debby to resist. She decided to make tiny batches of brownies in a small loaf pan each time, so their would be just enough for her daughter’s craving and no leftovers. Later she made tiny cakes for a baby shower, using metal cans as the cake pans and Small-Batch Baking was born!
Not everyone has a brood of children to bake for, and many of us want a decedent treat now-and-again without the concern of excess layer cake and cookies taunting us days later. Debby has taken all the effort out of making sweet treats for this generation’s small family; pairing back recipes, without loosing taste or texture.
Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers is a collection of all things chocolate. As Debby states in her introduction, “Everything is better with chocolate” and she is out the prove it with: Praline Chocolate Brownie Cake, Chocolate Early Grey Tea Souffles, and Chocolate Baklava.
As I dug through the book, salivating over the chocolate-laden recipes, I decided to make a treat with more chocolate and less of everything else! That’s how I roll. *wink*
I started with Debby’s Chocolate Raspberry Pots de Creme. These silky chocolate cups, fragrant with raspberry liqueur, are utterly amazing. Smooth, rich, balanced, and not overly sweet; I say they land somewhere between the best chocolate pudding ever and eating straight chocolate ganache. It gives me the shivers, all over again, just to think about them! Hugs to Debby Maugans.
To Prepare Chocolate Raspberry Pots de Creme:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Place two 6 oz. custard cups in a rimmed baking dish.
Place the chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan until it simmers. Pour 1/3 of the cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for 1 minute.
Whisk until smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture back into the saucepan and whisk.
Place the egg yolks in a small bowl. Whisk a little of the cream mixture into the eggs. Then pour the egg mixture back into the sauce pan and whisk well.
Mix the sugar and cocoa powder together. Add then to the sauce pan and whisk well. Allow the mixture to thicken for about 5 minutes—stir constantly.
Add the raspberry liqueur, vanilla and salt. Mix well. Then pour the mixture into two custard cups. Fill the rimmed pan with hot water until it come half way up the side of the custard cups. Then place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Chocolate Raspberry Pots de Creme
Ingredients
- 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 1/4 ounce unsweetened chocolate chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoons egg yolk about 1 1/2 eggs yolks
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon raspberry liqueur
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch salt
- Whipped cream and fresh raspberries for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Place two 6-ounce custard cups in a rimmed baking dish.
- Place the chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan until it simmers. Pour 1/3 of the cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture back into the saucepan and whisk.
- Place the egg yolks in a small bowl. Whisk a little of the cream mixture into the eggs. Then pour the egg mixture back into the sauce pan and whisk well.
- Mix the sugar and cocoa powder together. Add then to the sauce pan and whisk well. Allow the mixture to thicken for about 5 minutes—stir constantly.
- Add the raspberry liqueur, vanilla and salt. Mix well. Then pour the mixture into two custard cups. Fill the rimmed pan with hot water until it come half way up the side of the custard cups. Then place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- The Pots de creme should be set, but a little jiggly. Place them in the fridge to cool, once cooled cover until ready to serve. Serve with Whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
Debby’s book is LOVELY and so is your pots de creme;) I would love to sample one right now;)
And I liked your post on Facebook! :)
I now follow you on Facebook.
Added you to my Google reader!
Tweeted about this wonderful giveaway on twitter!
Oh oh these are so chocolatty and delicious! My husband absolutely LOVES chocolate, but wants to be a healthy eater. This is the perfect recipe book for us! I can spoil him but he won’t have to feel guilty:)
And finally, I just followed @smallbatchbakin :)
I just tweeted about the giveaway as well!
And I also subscribe on Twitter @missionfood
I subscribe on Facebook also :)
I subscribe to your RSS feed already :)
Sold! I love love love the idea of a cookbook featuring chocolate and in small portions so you can whip up treats to satisfy cravings and not need to feed the neighbors along with it :) Would love to win a copy of this book!
Gorgeous as usual !!!
tweeted for support, good luck to all who enter!!
sweetlife
A give away!!! YAY! Can I? I really like the idea of small batches, esp when I only just taste as I go along or just have on portion for calorie control.
What a sweet giveaway. Im always looking for smaller portion baking so that we can enjoy our treat but not over indulge at any point. These raspberry pots de creme look beautiful.
this will help with the sweet cravings and I won’t over eat.
I can’t imagine life without chocolate! Your little desserts look so delicious. I like the idea of making small batches. As it is now, I freeze a considerable amount of my baked goods, and that’s after I have already given some away.