CHOCOLATE SALTED CARAMEL POTS DE CREME

This was a dessert request from my daughter for her birthday.  I was really good but very sweet..jmo!  

INGREDIENTS

·         1 C. Heavy Cream

·         ½ C. Good quality Dark Chocolate(I like Ghirardelli's, 60% chocolate chips)

·         2 T. Sugar

·         2 Egg Yolks

·         ½ t. Vanilla

·         ½ C. Sugar

·         2 T. Water

·         1¼ C. Heavy Cream

·         ½ t. Coarse Salt

·         3 Egg Yolks

·         1 C. Heavy Cream, whipped to stiff peaks

·         Cocoa Powder, for dusting

·         Callebaut Crispearls - Dark Chocolate

·         , to garnish, if desired

INSTRUCTIONS

1.    FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER:

2.    Heat the 1 C. heavy cream, chocolate, and 2 T. sugar in a saucepan over medium/high heat, whisking until the chocolate is completely melted.

3.    In a small bowl, beat the 2 egg yolks lightly with the whisk. Pour about ¼ C. of the chocolate mixture in a slow, steady stream, into the egg yolks while whisking constantly to temper.

4.    Add the egg yolk mixture into the chocolate mixture and combine.

5.    Heat the saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture just thickens and bubbles. Do not cook to long or eggs will curdle.

6.    Remove from heat, whisk in the vanilla, and divide the chocolate pudding between 6 small glasses or ramekins. Tap the ramekins on the counter to settle the pudding and help the top even out.

7.    Refrigerate ramekins while you make the caramel pudding.

8.    FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER:

9.    Place the ½ C. Sugar and 2 T. water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Brush the sides of the pan down with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming.

10.  The sugar will begin to caramelize after a few minutes. Do not stir, but swirl to help evenly caramelize.

11.  Heat the 1¼ C. cream in the microwave until hot.

12.  As soon as the caramel is golden brown, pour about half of the heavy cream in. The mixture will bubble quite furiously. When he bubbling starts to die down, add in the rest of the cream and salt, and whisk until the mixture is smooth.

13.  Remove from heat.

14.  In a small bowl, lightly beat the 3 egg yolks with the whisk. In a slow, steady stream, pour in about ½ C. of the caramel cream, whisking constantly.

15.  Whisk the tempered egg mixture back in the the saucepan with the caramel cream and bring back to a boil slowly, whisking constantly.

16.  As soon as the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, remove from heat.

17.  Divide between the 6 dishes and tap to settle the pudding.

18.  Refrigerate for a few hours, or until cold and set.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the things You Love.
Donna

Bing Cherry Shortcake - YUM

Ok this was one of those ideas that came from having a bowl of bing cherry's on the countertop and thinking oh gee I better eat all of them soon or they will go bad.   Soooooooooooooooo what better to do with them than turn them into a YUMMY Dessert.  I first rewashed them all then  painstakingly took the time to pit them.  I did that like you would do a peach, by cutting around the pit and twisting, didn't take much time at all. but is a bit messy.   I think I had about 3/4 of lb.  I then put them into a pan and cooked them til the juice was reduced to a nice syrup.

Cherry filing:
3/4 lbs. bing cherries (or whatever you want to put in them)
1/4 sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon *you can add more if you want*
1 tsp. nutmeg  *you can add more if you want*
2 TBL butter (unsalted)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup red wine ( I used Redwood Creek California Cabernet Sauvignon -  2008) *more or less  if you want but don't go over board* LOL

Shortcake:
***Shortcake***
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine
1 egg
3/4 cup sour cream
For shortcake, combine dry ingredients in a large bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. In a small bowl, beat egg; add sour cream. Stir into the crumb mixture just until moistened.

Turn onto a floured board; knead 25 times or until smooth. Roll out into a 7 1/2 inch circle. Cut a 2-inch hole in center to form a ring. For mine I used this pan.  I used a large glass and cut circles and pushed them into the pan so they would take that shape.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 12-14 minutes or until golden. Remove from baking sheet; cool on a wire rack.

This recipe was found here  I wanted to make a cake tort like you buy at the grocery store but was not sure about the ingredents, so this will be something I will tackle soon and will post the recipe for that at another time.  I bought one of those shortcake pans at Michael's this past week (they had a 50% off coupon).  *see above*

From the oven

And now served with the whipped cream.  Oh these are soooooo good you must try them.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful day, and Do Find the Time to Do the Things you Love.

Donna