If you know a little about me, you might figure out where the egg yolks came from. No mystery here! Of course they came from my quest for feet, and the failure associated with them! And in case you haven’t stopped by before, feel at home, grab some coffee, and join me in my footless saga! In a nutshell, it’s about finding feet in macarons, and then finding a home for the yolks!
Macaron madness hits us this time every month and the theme for MacTweets, the macaron obsessed blog that Jamie and I host, this September, is childhood memories! Mac Attack #11 – Long ago & far away … CHILDHOOD SUMMER MEMORIES.
What are pots de creme? Pots de Creme refers to both the custard dessert as well as the small lidded pots this dessert is served in. Pot de creme, or pot-au-creme translates from French to English as “pot of cream”. The French do not have a word for “custard” the dish is simply referred to as “creme”. The pots may also be referred to as “petits pots“. Technically the pots de creme is a lightly set, baked custard. The “traditional” proportions for this dessert is one whole egg to every five egg yolks for 2 1/2 to 3 cups of liquid. A dessert made with these basic proportions will yield a barely firm custard. This is why the custard is best served in small pots (or ramekins). You can read more about it at Pots de Creme.
Feedback on these divine pots was obviously good, what with the luscious chocolate, cherries and cream! sharing space! The 3C’s together got me a 5/5!! The son asked, ‘Mousse? No? Well it’s really nice and chocolaty!’ Having just watched an episode of Master Chef moments ago, he charmingly added, ‘You would have won it if you were there. They made some really bad looking stuff today!’ Funny fellow he is! The teen who lives in the clouds also graciously mentioned that they were ‘VERY NICE’, and continued to spoon it into her mouth saying,’Fatty too huh?’ Didn’t seem to deter her though!!
For those of you who might wonder about the eggy aromas, I can assure you there were none. The vanilla bean took care of that, and chocolate in there must have appropriately masked the rest. It was a smooth, silky, deep mousse like potful! Good to the last scrape! I’ve heard lots about this delightful dessert, and I’ll have to say it’s one of the best dessert in the world, really is! Now that the weather is warming up, I’m thinking pumpkin pots de creme next!
Mr PAB bought me a new oven recently, and I finally found a patch of positivity in the PAB feet saga. I did try yet another desperate batch of macs this morning, and met with some degree of success – see some kind of feet above? Life is looking up, and this new oven might just help me find feet. Maybe it’s significant too that the monsoons have finally stopped here, and the sun is out again! Just in time thankfully, because Mr PAB was beginning to show signs of utter despair, and asked me yesterday if I thought I should buy another brand of oven! The obsession with feet is clearly infectious!
Chocolate and Cherry Pots de Creme
Adapted from Canelle et Vanille
200ml whole milk50ml full fat cream {top of the milk cream}200ml low fat cream {Amul 25% fat}1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
40gms vanilla sugar
4 egg yolks
160gms bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup preserved cherries {or raspberries, fresh or frozen}
Method:
Bring the milk,both creams, vanilla bean and half of the sugar to a boil. Pour this over the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the other half of the sugar. Temper the hot chocolate mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Strain the custard through a fine sieve.
Place some preserved cherries into ramekins and pour the custard into them. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan and bring this to a preheated 160C oven.
Place the sheet pan in the oven and pour hot water in the sheet pan. Bake the pot de creme in the water bath until center is set, mine took about 45 minutes since the oven is new. Do check after 30 minutes. Refrigerate until completely cooled.
Yay, I definitely see some beautiful feet on your chocolate macarons! What a champ! Your diligence paid off:)
Your pots de creme look rich and luscious. Sounds like your family has found a new favorite dessert:) The photos are so clear and crisp I feel as though I could reach in and indulge in a spoonful…I wish:) Great post(and memories) Deeba!
It's yum-o-licious. If only my computer has a 'scratch n sniff' function, I would be licking my monitor.
Heavenly! Those pots de crème look exquisite. *drool*
Cheers,
Rosa
these are looking so tempting! love the frst pic.
Well, sistah, let me tell you that the macs look utterly scrumptious – who needs feet when they look that good? And i'd forgo them macs for one of your chocolate pots de crème! Absolutely luscious! Mmmm. Gotta make these! Divine, always divine! And your pics are more stunning every time! xo
They look wonderful! Cherries and chocolate go so well together. In Michigan where cherries are very big. They have a wonderful cherry wine that is like a brandy and they always serve it with some chocolate. This would be wonderful with that cherry wine!
How is it possible that every time I visit your photographs get better and better??? Just beautiful. I would love to demolish one of those little pots of heaven :o) And yes, those little macs look seriously stunning. The feet are just about there. Next time they will be Im sure. Hugs xx
I see feet; itty bitty feet but you know if I haven't told you before, with American size 11 shoes…I just happen to love itty bitty feet!
Is that the new kitchen remodel I sort of spy…will be do a reveal for all of us, pretty please?
BEAUTIFUL pots de creme. They hold a special place in my heart as the very first dessert I ever attempted beyond cookies are cakes. You make me want to try them again Deeba!
The flowers made me nostalgic..in bengal we call them "Madhabi Lata"..I don't know what you call them….we used to make bangles and necklaces weaving the stems toghether..that's an utterly fun and creativity that I miss so much….
LOved the dish and the snaps are as usual awesome….
Feet or no feet, your macarons look fabulous!
And it's true, chocolate and cherries are a perfect match. Those pots de crème look so elegant. I'm sure they were delicious!
Drooling over the pot de creme! There might not be anything better than ultra creamy chocolate…nope, can't think of anything!
I am always worried about that "Eggy aroma". But I will take your word for it, for they looks delightful!
You have definitely put your yolks to good use Deeba.I can imagine that the MacTweets have plenty of egg yolks ready and waiting at any given time.
I agree with you son, you would surely win Master Chef. The dessert looks fabulous! So glad the new oven is helping you find feet again. Your husband sounds like a sweetie.
yumiyum…looks so delicious:X
Ooh Deeba… I totally agree that cherries and chocolate are a perfect match! These look so luscious and chocolatey- I also have scratched my brains about what to do with our yolks. Will give this a go next time!
I love the way you group your images together. I'm waiting for the humidity to lessen here in Dubai before attempting macarons. The idea for the egg yolks is inspired.
Oh, I love the little dried flowers on top of your vanilla macarons – so cute!!! And you are spot on when you mention the chocolate cherry combo – a match made in heaven indeed! Will have to look into preserving cherries – they sound so moreish! =)
Pressed flowers into mac shells- pure genius! Your macs looked great to me…and those mouthwatering pots de creme..don't get me started…
p.s. he fact your husband was so concerned as to suggest another oven is SO adorable.
Congratulations on semi-success!! Those pots de creme look sinful.
This does look scrumptious!
Luxurious decadence!! New oven?? Wow!! Am dying to know which one u bought:-)
Nevermind Mactweets Deeba you and I need to have our own site for "what do do with your feetless macs". You rocked this one outside the park! Hugs to my feetless sistah!
oh deeba how similar we are…hanging upside down from trees, making the exact same pots de creme from Aran's recipe although i made the raspberry one…and not finding feet this time LOL…
Chocolate and cherries, together at last. Sounds wonderful!
looks heavenly!
yeah it#s usually pots de creme after the macarons! lol! love your combination my sweet friend. choc and cherry are always a winning combo!
The cute little pots look tempting to grab! Lovely clicks, Deeba.
Hi Deeba,
i found your blog sometime back and have literally been hooked to it since then
i wanted to ask if we can find these ramekins in Delhi /noida area
once again, keep up the good work….u rock 🙂
thanks,
Oh my goodness. Those look SO delicious. Chocolate and cherries are a sure fire win!
What a FABULOUS way to use all of the egg! This treat sounds so so delightful and heavenly!
Loved this post and the pix are beautiful. Was thinking of making the recipe for a large dinner party (50+ people) .
A few questions:
1. How many “pots” does the recipe make (is it only the 3 pictured)?
2. We seem to have an abundance of cherry pie filling – would that work?
3. How far in advance can this be made? Or, alternatively, can it be frozen?