For those who don’t know, pots de crème are a sort of fancy relative of pudding. Now I have to say, I absolutely love chocolate pudding. It is a wonderfully simple yet delicious dessert that makes me feel like a kid again with every spoonful. However, chocolate pots de crème are a richer, smoother, more seductive version of a spoon dessert that are easy to make but elegant enough to serve for company. They are also an excellent choice if you need a nice dessert on relatively short notice. With minimal ingredients that we usually have on hand and brief prep time, these can be made in a snap and then popped into the fridge while you focus on other things.
I did have one minor issue with the recipe. Dorie’s version directs the reader to cover the pan with plastic wrap and then bake the custards. This seems like a bad idea to me, but she says that because they bake at low heat, the plastic wrap will be fine. I think she may have some special kind of plastic wrap, because mine dissolved after about 15 minutes. Thankfully it stayed away from the desserts themselves, but still, I don’t want melted plastic anywhere near my food. I have adapted the version below to use a foil cover – this just seems safer all around. You will have to peek under the foil to check for doneness, so be careful not to blast yourself in the face with steam. Now that I’ve tried these, I can’t wait to try the caramel version next!