AUGUST 6, 2010
Doesn’t this sound intimidating? Well, it isn’t. Pots de Creme is just a really fancy way of saying, PUDDING! Yet, with the volume turned up.
Isaac loves Pot de Creme. I make mine in little 2 ounce custard dishes ( actually, they are Chinese tea cups ) and on a good day I can get 8 custards out of one recipe. All 8 disappear within 2-3 days and most likely it is Isaac whom has eaten them all!
I licked the spoon. These are creamy, flavorful from the espresso, and bowl lickin good! I believe the secret ingredient in this recipe is the brown sugar. I altered the original recipe just a tad, regardless the results were delicious! This is the perfect week night dessert as it takes minutes to make and can be ready in a flash.
Cafe au Lait Pots de Creme
adapted from Melissa d’Arabian
ingredients:
3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup cream
2 Tbls. sugar
2 Tbls sucanat
1 Tbls. espresso powder
1/2 vanilla bean ( beans scraped from the pod)
pinch of salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks
instructions:
• preheat oven to 325*
• warm some water in a tea kettle
• in a small saucepan, combine the milk, cream, sugars, espresso, vanilla bean ( scrape the beans from the pod and put both the pod and the beans into the saucepan ), and salt. Heat over low heat just until starting to boil.
• in a measuring cup whisk the egg yolks and the one egg.
• once milk mixture reaches the almost boiling point, pour about a 1/4 cup of the mixture into the egg mixture. do this slowly, you don’t want to “cook” the eggs. keep adding the milk mixture a little at a time until all is incorporated.
• pour the custard into 8-2 oz. ramekins or 4-4oz ramekins and place in a baking dish.
• fill the baking dish to the halfway point of the ramekins with the heated water ( I like to put my ramekins into the baking dish and put it in the oven. once steady, i pour the hot water into the pan. push the oven tray back, gently and close the oven door).
• bake until the edges are set, but still a little wobbly, about 20-25 minutes.
• remove ramekins from the water and place on a small sheet pan filled with ice water. let cool.
• refrigerate until serving