A treat for your Valentine

Not to add to anyone’s homemaking stress level, but nothing says Happy St. Valentine’s Day more than a silky, rich, chocolate pots de creme.(Keep in mind I had a gourmet cook for a mother…this was her go-to dessert. Pots de creme pots were high priority essentials on my wedding registry list.)

If you are like me and add cream to your coffee, you will have all the ingredients!

Pots de Creme au Chocolate

2 oz bittersweet chocolate (I use semi sweet chocolate chips if I don’t have good stuff)

1 C heavy cream

3 egg yolks

2 T sugar

2 t pure vanilla

Preheat oven to 325.

Add cream and chocolate to a heavy saucepan and heat, stirring, over med-low until melted. (Don’t let boil.) Let cool to warm.

Beat egg yolks until lemon colored. Add sugar slowly while beating. Slowly stir in warm cream mixture to eggs a little a a time so it doesn’t cook the egg. Stir in vanilla.

Pour into 6 little pots with lids or custard cups (cover with foil) and place cups in a 13×9 pan and fill pan with 1″ hot water. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool and chill for several hours.

(based on an old Williams-Sonoma recipe)