Master baker Nick Malgieri’s Perfect Chocolate Loaf Cake was, well, perfect.
And chocolate cake perfection can only be topped by one thing – chocolate custard perfection. So, naturally, I referred back to one of the nation’s best bakers for the seamless marriage of creamy and crunchy and sweet and savory. Meet Chocolate Pots de Crème with Almond Wafers. And by wafers, I mean spoons. It’s function meets flavor, and is it ever a hit.
I’m a big fan of individual desserts, and really just individual anything (hello Middle Child Syndrome). Pour the custard into single-serving ramekins or small aluminum cups and chill them up to 24 hours in advance. Continue to entertain with ease as you bake off a batch of Almond Wafers then tuck one into the custards to pack a nutty crunch into each chocolate bite.
Ingredients
For the Pots de Crème:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 vanilla bean, split
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into ¼" pieces
- 8 aluminum cups
For the Almond Wafers:
- 1 cup shelled almond slices
- 6 Tablespoons flour
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 Tablespoon dark rum
- 2 egg whites
Instructions
For the Pots de Crème:
- Bring the heavy cream, half of the sugar and the vanilla bean (scraped, plus whole pod) to a boil in a saucepan.
- Whisk together the egg yolks with the remaining other half of the sugar in a separate bowl.
- Whisk ⅓ of the boiling milk mixture into the egg yolks, stirring constantly. (Note: This is the "tempering" process, which ensures that you won't end up with scrambled eggs!)
- Return the combined egg/milk mixture to the saucepan with the remaining milk and continue cooking it for 15-20 seconds until slightly thickened.
- Strain the cream into a bowl containing the chocolate. Whisk until completely smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the aluminum cups and refrigerate until cooled. Top with Almond Wafers (recipe below).
For the Almond Wafers:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a food processor, pulse together the almonds with the flour until completely ground. Set aside.
- Cream together the softened butter and the sugar in a mixmaster fitted with the paddle attachment. Continue beating until the mixture turns white.
- Beat in the lemon zest and rum.
- Beat in the egg whites, one at a time until completely incorporated.
- Stir the ground almond and flour into the batter by hand.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag or plastic bag and pipe 1-inch mounds onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake the wafers for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
Shoutout
Did you try this recipe?
Share it with the world! Mention @justataste or tag #justatasterecipes!
Recipes adapted from Nick Malgieri.
Excellent recipe, Kelly. Thank you so much for sharing it!
You are so welcome, Beth! Thank you for rating it!
I love the idea of this recipe- it already ‘tastes’ magical in my head! Just please tell me the exact gram for 1 stick of butter? Coming from South Africa our butter is sold in 500 grm blocks!
Many thanks
Thanks, Susie! One stick of butter is equal to 113.4 grams. Hope this helps :)