Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee

If you’re planning to go all out on Valentine’s Day, here’s a dessert worth the calories. It combines the silky rich custard of creme brulee with dark chocolate. Garnish with a few fresh berries, and your loved ones will swoon with pleasure.

Although the recipe is simple and easy to follow, you’ll need to plan ahead. It’s best to start a day in advance because after baking, the custards need to cool and then chill. They need another chilling period after the sugar topping has been caramelized.

The recipe and photos are from Nestle.

DARK CHOCOLATE CRÈME BRÛLÉE
Yield: 6 servings

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces 53 percent dark chocolate, broken into small pieces, or 2/3 cup (4 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup plus 6 teaspoons granulated sugar, divided

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place cream, half-and-half and vanilla in large saucepan. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth.

Whisk egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar in large mixer bowl. Gradually whisk in chocolate mixture.

Pour mixture through fine sieve into six 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Place ramekins in 13-by-9-inch baking dish; fill pan with hot water to 1-inch depth.

Bake for 40 minutes or until custards jiggle slightly when pan is shaken. Cool custards in water until cool enough to handle. Remove custards from water; refrigerate for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap; continue to refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Preheat broiler. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over top of each custard. Place custards on baking sheet. Broil for 3 minutes or until sugar is melted and caramelized (rotate pan as needed to prevent burning). Alternately, tops can be caramelized using kitchen torch. Refrigerate for 2 hours so that the topping can harden and the custard can cool and set.