Cooking at Home for Valentine’s Day
We never go out for Valentine’s Day dinner, instead opting for a quiet dinner at home. We skip the crowds, over-booked restaurants, over-worked kitchens and sometimes higher prices for special menus. We decided long ago it’s not worth the hassle or the price tag when we can prepare a special dinner at home for far less.
Cooking at home is also nice when you want to treat your family or a group of friends that you love to a special dinner or just dessert. When it comes to dessert for Valentine’s day, it’s all about chocolate. Here is an easy to make yet decadent chocolate dessert to serve your sweetie or sweeties.
Chocolate Pudding or Pots de Creme?
As a kid, chocolate pudding meant opening a box of Jello, adding milk and following the directions. Of course, you can still do that today, but boxed chocolate pudding is no match for home made. The French call these Pots de Crème (pronounced poh-du-krem). Now that’s a name with some pizzazz. Translation - pots of cream, which is basically what they are. Luscious little cups or ramekins of good quality chocolate combined with hot cream, a little sugar and a few other ingredients. Some recipes add cocoa powder, vanilla, egg yolk, a pinch of salt and even cinnamon for a spiced version. The nice thing is you can easily keep the ingredients on hand to make these anytime your sweet tooth or a special occasion hits.
If the spiced version sounds good (it won’t to the chocolate purists, I understand), try adding a little Chinese Five Spice when heating the cream and espresso powder. Five Spice is a blend of cinnamon, star anise, anise seed, ginger and clove. It has a wonderful affinity for chocolate. I like to add Five Spice when I make chocolate gelato and it pairs well with this pudding recipe as well.
It’s All About the Chocolate
For my baking and dessert needs I keep both block chocolate and chocolate wafers in my pantry. If you have a block of chocolate it’s much easier to knock it down to size using a long serrated knife. To skip chopping altogether, try chocolate wafers or buttons. The block chocolate in my pantry is from Scharffen Berger and for the buttons I keep a big box of Guittard Couverture Wafers. The wafers are about the size of a nickel. No chopping required, which makes it easier and faster…and better for nibbling.
High quality chocolate is essential for a recipe like this, so if you can’t find high quality chocolate at a store near you, order it off Amazon by clicking on the names above.
Another option, visit Chocosphere. This is a site that will send chocolate lovers into a trance. Chocosphere features 49 different brands of chocolates, almost from A to Z, from Alma Chocolate to Waialua Estate. To measure just the right amount of chocolate I always use a digital scale for accuracy. If you don’t have one, they are a worthwhile investment. I could not live without one in my kitchen.
Another ingredient note – for the espresso powder, I use Medaglia d’Oro. If you can’t find it at the store it can be ordered off the internet. The link above is to Amazon, or Market Hall Foods carries it.
The recipe I’ve made for years is from the February 1998 issue of Food and Wine Magazine by Jan Newberry with a few personal edits to that original recipe. Once this pudding sets up it’s almost like a truffle. If you prefer it softer, plan to eat it sooner before it sets up or do as I do and add more cream to the recipe. Instead of a 1/2 cup I use 1 cup of heavy cream.
However you celebrate Valentine’s Day and whomever you celebrate with – your spouse, special someone, family or a group of friends, Mocha Fudge Pudding is guaranteed to be a hit for dessert.
Chocolate Pudding: Pots de Creme
This recipe is adapted from the February 1998 issue of Food and Wine Magazine, recipe by Jan Newberry. The ramekin size is not specified in the original recipe. I’d suggest using small ones, about 4 ounces. Sometimes I use espresso cups which are about 3 ounces. This recipe is very rich, so a small amount is usually enough to satisfy a sweet tooth at the end of a meal. If you are concerned about using a raw egg, look for pasteurized eggs at your grocers. The puddings can be refrigerated overnight.
Yield: will depend on the size of ramekins used, 3-4 servings
Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons (3 grams) instant espresso
6 ounces (175 grams) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup (45 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice (optional, or try plain cinnamon)
Directions
1) In a food processor, combine the chocolate and sugar and pulse until the chocolate is finely ground. Add the egg, vanilla and salt and pulse to a paste.
2) In a small (2 quart/2L) saucepan, bring the cream, espresso powder and spice (if using) to a boil over high heat, whisking to incorporate. Be careful and watch the cream as it comes to a boil. It can boil over in the blink of an eye, and its a terrible mess to clean up.
3) With the food processor on, add the hot cream in a steady stream and blend until smooth and silky, about 1 minute. This melts everything together and makes the pudding.
4) Transfer the pudding to the ramekins and refrigerate. It will be easier if you first pour it into a large heat proof measuring cup (like Pyrex) with a pouring spout.
Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream (add a little vanilla and a touch of sugar when whipping) and chocolate curls (do them with a vegetable peeler or a microplane zester and a bar or chunk of chocolate). A few fresh strawberries are a nice addition too.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Delicious!!!
what a great idea adding the chinese five spice..i’m all over chocolate in any form! totally agree with you on staying in on valentine’s, thinking fondue this year…