Lavender Chocolate Pots de Crème

Ever since I saw this post at Susan’s blog, it got stuck to my head. Luscious, decadent, and chocolaty; the only way to get this custard off my head was to try making it at least once. Having all the ingredients on hand didn’t help either. I succumbed to temptation and treated myself with this fabulous dessert.

Lavender blossoms were lost in the dark corners of my pantry for a few months now. Though I enthusiastically bought some, I was hesitant to cook with it for reasons unknown. I didn’t come across a recipe that compelled me to conquer my hesitation, until I stumbled upon this recipe.

I duly followed the recipe to the T, waited patiently and dug my spoon into the smooth custard. The first mouth was totally unexpected. I have never tasted anything with such strong floral notes. Chocolate and lavender are quite a duo. I halved the recipe and made 4 portions from it, but this was still enough to treat our taste buds.

Few things to be kept in mind are, don’t boil the cream along with lavender. It can turn bitter. Also, while straining, be careful not to over-strain the flowers. This may lead to bitterness too.

Lavender Chocolate Pots de Crème
(serves 4)

Ingredients

Whipping cream - 1 cup
Culinary-grade lavender blossoms - 1½ tbsp
Semisweet chocolate - 2 ounces, chopped
Egg yolks – 3, large
Sugar - 1½ tbsp

Method

Heat cream in a sauce pan just before it reaches a simmer. Remove from heat and add lavender blossoms. Set aside for 10 minutes, strain out the blossoms completely. Transfer back to the sauce pan, cover and refrigerate for an hour. This helps the flavours to develop.

Preheat oven to 325 F. Put the sauce pan back on medium-low heat, add the chopped chocolate, and stir to melt. Continue to stir until the chocolate has dissolved completely. Remove from heat.

Whisk the yolks and sugar in a bowl until thick and creamy. Slowly pour the chocolate-cream mixture into the egg mixture with one hand, while whisking the egg mixture with the other hand, simultaneously. Take care that the eggs don’t get curdled due to the addition of the hot cream mixture. Strain once again.

Line a baking dish (about 9x9) with a clean kitchen towel. Place 4 ramekins without touching each other. Evenly distribute the chocolate mixture among the ramekins. Pour hot water into the baking dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully slide into oven and bake for 20 minutes. The custard should still be wiggly when pulled out of the oven. Take out of the oven, cool completely, and refrigerate overnight, covering the ramekins with plastic wrap. Serve cold with chocolate shavings or whipped cream.

I didn’t even bother to whip the topping. Chocolate shavings were just enough for this delightful custard. Thank you, Susan. You are truly a Well-Seasoned Cook.

An amazing dessert like this has only five ingredients. Less is More, Or so says Nupur of One Hot Stove. This is my entry to this month’s MBP.

Rachna at Soul Food is hosting JFI. This month’s theme is Flower Power. I can’t wait to see what the bloggers have come up with. Rachna, I am sending this to you as well.

30 comments:

Raaga said...

I doubt I'd have thought beyond Banana Flower!! These look lovely :-)

amna said...

sigh.. chocolate and lavendar. sounds almost magical :) i always choose lavendar for potpourri and room fresheners. can't imagine eating it though :D

Shreya said...

An amazing recipe, and lovely pics. Wonderful entry for the events:-)

Srivalli said...

well it looks lovely!...if this is the sample for flower power..I can't wait for the round up!

delhibelle said...

ooh..you passed it onto me now! Looks approachable enough for me to finally try my hand at desserts:)

Nupur said...

What an utterly decadent dessert! Thank you for sending in this gorgeous entry, Suganya.

notyet100 said...

looks delicious...yummy pics,,

Susan said...

I'm thrilled you tried (and blogged about!) this recipe. Thanks! It's one of my favorites. Love the soft white and brown colors and textures. Shaved chocolate is the perfect finish. : }

sunita said...

Delish!!Drool!!!

Patricia Scarpin said...

I have received a can of lavender as a gift but haven't used it yet - this is magnificent and thank you for sharing all those tips on how to use the lavender!

A_and_N said...

I've never even heard of lavender! And the custard sounds decadent indeed :) Loved the corn pancakes and salsa as well! Thanks for the recipes :)

Rachna said...

Hey Suganya, love your entry to bits.... I want to have a recipe for JFI for each type of edible flower and now I have Lavender.....superb.... thank you!!!!

J said...

Oh, like I told Susan, the name itself is so exotic!

A_and_N said...

OMG, so sinful :)

bee said...

after i made lavender choc pudding, i am in love with the comb. i try and add lavender to many of my desserts now.

Mansi said...

that looks wonderfully enticing! I've used lavendar in cobblers before, and just love their aroma! great entry for both the events Sugs!:)

Tee said...

Wow! what a lovely recipe! I have never consumed lavender based dishes...sounds interesting.

Bhawana said...

great Suganya, u r too good. wonderful job

Nirmala said...

Lovely and choclaty! I just bookmarked a choc pudding from Melissa's kitchen and now thinking should I make your too! I have to hunt for the lavender flowers in Chennai. And flower power seems to get so many decadent such dishes :)

Anonymous said...

Oh no! for some reason none of your pictures are loading up! I think I have a problem with my firefox browser. It's been acting up lately. I need to figure out the problem and return to see your always beautiful pics. I'll be back....

Anonymous said...

I have such a massive obsession with lavender in cooking! And you went and combined it with chocolate :)

ushaprashanth said...

Hi Suganya!!!!!
The picture is lovely!!!perfect entry for the events!!

Anonymous said...

Yum! I just got a bunch of lavender for a different baking project, but it sounds even better paired with chocolate. Maybe I'll have to play around with this combo..

KayKat said...

I totally jumped onto your blog the minute I saw the the 'Pots de Crème' in the title :)

I've grown to really enjoy the 'floral' flavours in lavender-laced dishes, especially icecream. And this definitely sounds as appetizing!

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Nice combo lavender & chocolate..
Good one

lakshmi said...

I remember Bee had something similar last year - Lavendar infused chocolate pudding. Now I don't think I can find culinary grade Lavendar here - I am wondering if Star Anise is a flower ;)

Pragyan said...

THAT looks sinful! :)

Unknown said...

these look really tempting. haven't used lavender for baking or anything than extracting the oil from French lavender for my bath :)

Jeanne said...

Oh wow! I love lavender and it does go particularly well with chocolate. Your pots look too gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Dont prefer lavender except in honey,,,i let them sit to make lavender honey...Lovely choco hotpots!!

Shobha

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