Dark Chocolate Crème Brûlée ~ quite simple to make...

My absolute favorite dessert is Crème Brûlée! You can find it in almost every fine dining restaurant, but did you know that it is actually quite simple to make. The smooth creamy custard contrasts very nicely with the crunch of the hardened sugar topping. And again, you get to play with fire (see my Oct 6th post for Banana’s Foster). This particular recipe uses dark chocolate but you can also substitute bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate.


Dark Chocolate Crème Brûlée

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups half and half
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 egg yolks
2 cups sugar

8 tablespoons sugar ~ before serving

In a large saucepan, bring cream and half and half to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar together until smooth. Gradually add hot chocolate mix, whisking until well blended.

Divide custard among eight ¾-cup custard cups. Place cups in large baking pan; add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Bake in a preheated oven set at 300° F for 50 minutes, or until custards are set. Remove from water and chill for 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

You can crystallize the sugar two ways: (1) Preheat your broiler. Sprinkle each custard with 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Broil until sugar turns golden. Do not let sugar burn. About 3 minutes. (2) Use a kitchen blow torch, again being careful not to burn the sugar.

Place custards back in refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours, to set.

Serves 8