Chocolate Crème Brulee

Tomorrow is Valentines Day!     My husband and I really don’t ‘celebrate’ on Valentines day – but I always love an excuse to make a special dessert.  He already bought me flowers – so they are blooming for Valentines day and he doesn’t have to pay the outrageous price mark-up just because it’s a certain calendar date. 

If you are looking for a last-minute dessert to make and you want something impressive and outrageously delicious.  This is for you.  It is like a super smooth, creamy pudding topped with a crispy, crunchy sugary top.  

And seriously – who doesn’t want to play with fire?   My husband was very happy to help out with this photo!

I added a few fresh raspberries to mine – I thought it was the perfect accompaniment to this.  I decided I need to make more crème brulee really soon. 

Ingredients

• 5 large egg yolks
• 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar (plus more for the burnt sugar topping)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split
• 4.5 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
• extra sugar for topping (I used turbinado)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 300°F and assemble 4 ceramic crème brulee tarts in a roasting pan.

2. Whisk together two tablespoons of sugar with the egg yolks.

3. Bring the cream, two remaining tablespoons of sugar and vanilla bean to a simmer over medium heat.  Once it begins to foam, remove from heat and fish out the vanilla bean. Scrape the vanilla seeds into the cream and discard the pod. Add the chocolate to the mixture and stir until completely melted and smooth.

4. Pour about 1/2 a cup of the warm chocolate cream into the bowl with the eggs while whisking. Then add the remaining cream and mix well.

5. On a large 4-cup glass measuring cup (or another large spouted vessel), place a fine mesh sieve over the vessel and pour in the custard.

6. Pour the strained mixture between the tarts, tapping the roasting pan gently on the counter to settle the custard and remove any air bubbles. Pour hot water into your roasting pan so it comes up roughly as high as the custard and then bake for 25-35 minutes, until set.

7. Allow to cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator until cold. 

8. When ready to serve,  sprinkle each with 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar and torch them until melted. Allow the sugar to set and then serve.

Source: Not So Humble Pie

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