anniversary pots de creme

There's probably not a better way to get back into the swing of blogging than to talk about chocolate pots de creme. Basically the French version of chocolate pudding. Rich chocolate pudding that is so decadent you have a few bites and you're done. Perfect to celebrate a life changing year with a special someone. That's as gushy as it's going to get, for now.

Onto the chocolate. And my cute pink ramekins.


Yeah. That's a lot of cream and chocolate and deliciousness. Sir Sous Chef knows it too.

Chop some chocolate. Separate some eggs.


I didn't use the whites. Obviously. Or I wouldn't have been lazy and stockpiled the shells in the bowl.

Next comes the long and tricky part. Continuously whisking the custard while waiting for it to slowly reach the right temperature for custard consistency and not sugared scrambled eggs. Because I sadly broke my candy thermometer by dropping it before its first use, I had to use our electronic thermometer and hold it suspended in the liquid for 20 min. I'm glad this stuff turned out so great because it took a loooooong time.

After it finally heats up, you let it sit in the bowl of chopped chocolate for awhile until it melts the chocolate.


And whisk some more, adding the espresso and vanilla. Starting to look good now...


Fill em up!


After filling your ramekins and letting them set in the fridge for awhile, top them with some homemade vanilla whipped cream, and then my personal favorite, dark chocolate covered espresso beans and dark chocolate cocoa powder.


And enjoy. I wish I had a picture of Mark's face when he took the first bite. I'm a pretty lucky girl. Just sayin'.