David Lohrentz
TVWBB Pro
2 cups heavy cream
6 oz. dark chocolate in small pieces or chips
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar plus more for topping
zest from about half an orange
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recipe makes enough for about 8-10 servings.
Preheat oven to 300. Place cream in a double boiler and zest half an orange into the cream. Also add vanilla extract. Heat cream for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile separate yolks and whisk gently, then slowly whisk in sugar. See Note below* about sugar quantity.
When the cream is close to a boil, turn off heat and add chocolate. Stir gently for a couple minutes until the chocolate is well completely melted.
Add a little of the hot chocolate cream mixture to the egg/sugar mixture, mixing constantly. Continue adding a little at a time until about one-fourth of the cream has been added, all the while stirring constantly, then add the remainder of the cream.
Put the chocolate cream mixture back into the double boiler and heat for about six minutes until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Continue whisking constantly, and be sure to get the hard to reach areas where the bottom meets the sides of your double boiler pan.
When it coats the back of a spoon, pull from the heat and remove the double boiler pan, taking care to wipe the moisture from the bottom of the pan. It is very critical that you strain the mixture through a sieve into a clean mixing bowl to remove the orange zest and any custard that has thickened too much. If you don't strain it the orange zest will leave a gritty texture to what needs to be smooth and creamy.
Place custard into 4-5 oz. creme brulee ramekins such as these. Put ramekins in a baking dish and add hot water half way up the sides of ramekins. Very gently move the baking dish to your oven, taking care not to spill. I use my pizza peel for this. Alternatively, you can add hot water to your pan after it is already in your oven. If you had a long piece of tubing you could siphon the hot water into the pan when it is already in the oven.
Bake for about 50 minutes until the custard is set. Remove carefully, being sure not to get hot water into the custard. Set the ramekins on racks to cool for about an hour, then cover and refrigerate for four hours or overnight.
When the custard is cool, put a thin layer of sugar on the top of each custard and use a torch like the one in the link above to melt the sugar. If you don't have a torch, you can use your oven broiler to carmelize the sugar, but keep the door open and watch it so you can remove it before the sugar burns. Carmelize the sugar until it turns a nice amber color.
Cool for a few minutes, and then enjoy. It is a muti-step process, but I think the people on this web site can appreciate delayed gratification where you start a cooking process the day before you get to eat it.
*Note: If you like dark chocolate, cut down on the sugar to maybe 2-3 T. My family members don't like dark chocolate so I increased the sugar for them.
6 oz. dark chocolate in small pieces or chips
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar plus more for topping
zest from about half an orange
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recipe makes enough for about 8-10 servings.
Preheat oven to 300. Place cream in a double boiler and zest half an orange into the cream. Also add vanilla extract. Heat cream for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile separate yolks and whisk gently, then slowly whisk in sugar. See Note below* about sugar quantity.
When the cream is close to a boil, turn off heat and add chocolate. Stir gently for a couple minutes until the chocolate is well completely melted.
Add a little of the hot chocolate cream mixture to the egg/sugar mixture, mixing constantly. Continue adding a little at a time until about one-fourth of the cream has been added, all the while stirring constantly, then add the remainder of the cream.
Put the chocolate cream mixture back into the double boiler and heat for about six minutes until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Continue whisking constantly, and be sure to get the hard to reach areas where the bottom meets the sides of your double boiler pan.
When it coats the back of a spoon, pull from the heat and remove the double boiler pan, taking care to wipe the moisture from the bottom of the pan. It is very critical that you strain the mixture through a sieve into a clean mixing bowl to remove the orange zest and any custard that has thickened too much. If you don't strain it the orange zest will leave a gritty texture to what needs to be smooth and creamy.
Place custard into 4-5 oz. creme brulee ramekins such as these. Put ramekins in a baking dish and add hot water half way up the sides of ramekins. Very gently move the baking dish to your oven, taking care not to spill. I use my pizza peel for this. Alternatively, you can add hot water to your pan after it is already in your oven. If you had a long piece of tubing you could siphon the hot water into the pan when it is already in the oven.
Bake for about 50 minutes until the custard is set. Remove carefully, being sure not to get hot water into the custard. Set the ramekins on racks to cool for about an hour, then cover and refrigerate for four hours or overnight.
When the custard is cool, put a thin layer of sugar on the top of each custard and use a torch like the one in the link above to melt the sugar. If you don't have a torch, you can use your oven broiler to carmelize the sugar, but keep the door open and watch it so you can remove it before the sugar burns. Carmelize the sugar until it turns a nice amber color.
Cool for a few minutes, and then enjoy. It is a muti-step process, but I think the people on this web site can appreciate delayed gratification where you start a cooking process the day before you get to eat it.
*Note: If you like dark chocolate, cut down on the sugar to maybe 2-3 T. My family members don't like dark chocolate so I increased the sugar for them.