Café au Lait Pots de Crème

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Six 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups
• •Large baking dish (9x13 inches or similar)
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Instant-read thermometer (optional but helpful)

Instructions

1. 1

   Infuse the cream with coffee

   Combine the heavy cream and whole milk in a medium saucepan. Add the chicory coffee grounds directly to the liquid. Set the pan over medium heat and bring just to a simmer, watching carefully. The moment you see small bubbles forming at the edges, remove from heat, cover with a lid, and let steep for fifteen minutes. This slow infusion pulls the bitter complexity from the chicory without making it harsh. That's how we make café au lait in New Orleans: patience and good coffee.

   Chicory coffee is the soul of this dessert. If you cannot find it, Community Coffee or French Market brands are available online. In a pinch, use a dark French roast, but the flavor will lack that distinctive New Orleans bitterness.
2. 2

   Strain and melt chocolate

   Place the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Set a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl. Reheat the coffee-cream mixture until just simmering again, then pour it through the strainer over the chocolate, pressing on the grounds with a spoon to extract every drop of flavor. Discard the grounds. Let the hot cream sit on the chocolate for two minutes without stirring. The residual heat does the work.

3. 3

   Create the chocolate base

   Starting from the center, whisk the chocolate and cream together in slow, expanding circles until completely smooth and glossy. The mixture should look like satin, no streaks or lumps. Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the eggs. You want this warm but not hot when the yolks go in.

   If your chocolate seizes or looks grainy, add a tablespoon of warm cream and whisk vigorously. The extra fat will bring it back together.
4. 4

   Prepare the egg mixture

   In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and salt until pale and slightly thickened, about two minutes of steady whisking. You are dissolving the sugar and building structure. When you lift the whisk, the mixture should fall in a thick ribbon that holds its shape briefly before sinking back. Add the vanilla and whisk once more.

5. 5

   Temper the eggs

   Here is where custard either becomes silk or scrambled eggs. Add about half a cup of the warm chocolate mixture to the yolks, whisking constantly. This raises the temperature of the eggs gradually. Add another half cup, still whisking. Now pour the tempered yolks back into the remaining chocolate, whisking smooth. The custard base should be uniform and glossy. Taste it. That's how you know the balance is right.

   If you see any bits of cooked egg, strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve. Better to catch it now than find it in your finished dessert.
6. 6

   Fill the ramekins

   Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Arrange six four-ounce ramekins in a baking dish with at least two-inch sides. Divide the custard evenly among the ramekins, filling each about three-quarters full. If you see bubbles on the surface, skim them with a spoon or pop them with a toothpick. We want a flawless top.

7. 7

   Create the water bath

   Pull the oven rack out partway and set the baking dish on it. Carefully pour hot tap water into the baking dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This water bath is called a bain-marie, and it is the only way to bake custard. The water keeps the temperature gentle and even. Direct oven heat would curdle the eggs before the centers set.

   Use a kettle or measuring cup with a spout to pour the water. Splashing water into your custards ruins everything you have built.
8. 8

   Bake low and slow

   Slide the rack back into the oven gently. Bake for forty to fifty minutes, checking at forty. The custards are done when the edges are set but the centers still jiggle like gelatin when you tap the side of a ramekin. They will firm as they cool. An overcooked pots de crème is a tragedy: grainy, dense, ruined. Pull them when they still wobble.

9. 9

   Cool and chill

   Carefully remove the ramekins from the water bath using tongs or a folded towel. Place on a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about thirty minutes. Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap, pressing it gently against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least four hours, or overnight. The custard needs this time to set fully and for the flavors to marry.

10. 10

    Serve with ceremony

    Remove from refrigerator fifteen minutes before serving. Cold dulls flavor. Top each pot with a generous dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream and a scattering of chocolate shavings if you like. Serve with small spoons and let your guests discover the silky depth of that first bite. When the last spoonful is as good as the first, you have done it right.

Chef Tips

• •Seek out real chicory coffee from Louisiana. Café Du Monde and French Market are widely available. The chicory adds a roasted, almost caramel bitterness you cannot replicate with regular coffee.
• •Use good chocolate. This is not the place for baking chips. Find a bar with seventy percent cacao or thereabouts. Ghirardelli, Guittard, or Valrhona will serve you well.
• •Room temperature egg yolks temper more smoothly than cold ones. Set them out while you infuse the cream and they will be ready when you need them.
• •At Lagniappe, we serve these with a tiny shot glass of chicory coffee alongside. The pairing doubles down on the New Orleans morning flavor.
• •A pinch of cayenne in the custard base, just enough to warm the back of your throat, is a Creole secret worth knowing. Start with an eighth of a teaspoon if you want to try it.

Advance Preparation

• •The custards must chill for at least four hours, so plan accordingly. They are ideal made the day before your dinner party.
• •Covered tightly, pots de crème keep refrigerated for up to four days. The texture remains perfect.
• •Whip the cream just before serving. It weeps if it sits too long.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 165g)