Chocolate Nutella Pots de Creme
A song fills the room interrupting the gentle quiet of thoughtful work. “Love and happiness….. Yeahhhhh. Something, make you want to do wrong. Make you do right. Yeahhhhhh. Loooooooovvvee……” Spurred on by the anticipated snap, snap, snap, snap of the drum sticks, I am energized from Al Green’s soulful voice and welcome the interruption. The song and my mood are no longer still and quiet. Al Green serenades me as I work and invites me to sing aloud and dance. He is generous that way and knows how to get the romantic heart pumping.
I’m empowered at the stove. With a wooden spoon in hand, I stir, sway and sing “Love and Happiness,” while creating a love song of my own with dark chocolate and Nutella. The name of my love song is, Chocolate Nutella Pots de Creme, a silky custard that could easily give Al Green some competition. This chocolate dessert has the right notes to create a sensual melody. A silky-smooth custard set the base notes while deep dark chocolate and Nutella establish a soulful rhythm. Sriracha punctuates with syncopated upbeats, downbeats and heartbeats. A final touch of flaky sea salt ties it all together like the last ting from a symbol at the end of a song. A soulful love melody.
I first discovered this recipe a few years ago while watching, The Best Thing I Ever Made: Chocoholics on Food Network. Aarti Sequeira created Chocolate Hazelnut Pots de Crème and she is absolutely right on claiming it is the best thing she ate. Lucky for me I stumbled upon this episode, because Chocolate Nutella Pots de Crème is not just the best chocolate dessert, it could be one of the best things I have ever had, period. It tops the charts in all categories. A swoon worthy chocolate hazelnut love song I sing again and again. “Yeeahhhh..”
Clues for Success making Chocolate Nutella Pots de Crème
- The only challenging part is getting the custard cooked to just the right consistency and temperature without scrambling the eggs. This is accomplished by slowly cooking the custard over medium heat and stirring constantly. Keep stirring as it prevents the custard and egg yolks from sticking to the pan and solidifying.
- The finished custard will have the consistency of thick paint. It will coat the back of a wooden spoon in an even layer. Swipe your finger across the back of the custard covered spoon. If the edges of the line run and drip down, it needs more time to cook. The custard is done when the line stays intact and the custard is thick. The temperature for the finished custard will be between 175°F and 180°F. Above 185°F the eggs will scramble.
- Often, my custard reaches 175°F but is not thick enough. Keep stirring and control the heat by turning down the heat or take the pan off the heat for a minute then place it back on the heat. Keep stirring.
- Trust your judgement.
- Once assembled and in placed in the refrigerator, give Chocolate Nutella Pots de Creme enough time to set, at least four hours. When set, it should have the consistency of pudding.
If you are not a chocolate fan but still want an elegant dessert try Peaches and Berries layered with Bourbon Sabayon and substitute the peaches with seasonal fruit. Or, make the light and airy Lemon Mousse. Another winner is Lemon Pavlova with Kiwi and Passion Fruit Sauce.
For Your Listening Pleasure
Here is a link to my unfinished play list of love songs on Spotify. It is an eclectic list of music, with an R & B foundation. Enjoy it while you are creating Chocolate Nutella Pots de Creme or a love song of your own creation. Yeahhhh! Love is….. Making dessert for someone.
What is your favorite Love Song? Let me know in the comments section below.
Chocolate Nutella Pots de Creme
Ingredients
- 1 cup 10.5 oz / 303 g Nutella, or another chocolate-hazelnut spread
- 3.5 oz 100 g dark chocolate (70 percent) chopped
- 1 ½ cups 375 ml whole milk
- 1 cup 250 ml heavy cream
- ¼ cup 2 oz / 54 g granulated sugar
- ¾ tsp Kosher salt
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1- 2 tsp Sriracha sauce 2 tsp if you like it spicy hot
- ½ tsp instant espresso powder
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
For Garnishes
- Lightly sweetened whipped cream or crème fraiche
- Cocoa powder for dusting
- Minced hazelnuts for garnishing
- Flaky sea salt I like Maldon
Instructions
-
Spoon the Nutella into a medium mixing bowl (or the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade), then add the chopped dark chocolate. Set aside.
-
Add milk, heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar and Kosher salt to a medium size nonreactive saucepan. Turn the heat up to medium temperature. Briefly whisk together the ingredients. Switch out the whisk with a wooden spoon and cook the custard stirring constantly, scraping along the bottom and crevices of the saucepan to make sure the custard does not stick or burn. After the custard has cooked for a while, about 8-10 minutes, you will notice the custard beginning to get thicker. This is an indication your custard is getting finished.
-
Look for these three clues that indicate the custard is done cooking; first, dip your wooden spoon into the custard to coat the spoon then run your finger across the back of the spoon to paint a line. Hold the spoon sideways, if the line edges stay intact, not runny, then the custard is ready. Second, the temperature of the custard should register between 175˚F and 180˚F (79°C - 82°C). Above 185˚F (85°C) the eggs will start to scramble. Third, the custard will look thicker, almost as thick as good quality house paint. Depending on the temperature of your stove, the cooking time should take between 10-15 minutes.
-
When the custard is done, turn off the heat and pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl with the chocolate and Nutella. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 5 minutes.
-
Meanwhile, organize 6 -8 oz (250 ml) serving glasses, ramekins, or small coffee mugs on a rimmed baking sheet.
-
Thoroughly stir, or process in your food processor, the custard and chocolate until the chocolate is all melted and thoroughly mixed together. Then add the instant coffee, sriracha, and vanilla extract and stir again double checking the chocolate is melted and the custard is well mixed.
-
Pour the chocolate into a container with a spout then pour the chocolate custard into serving dishes. Tap each glass against the countertop to remove any air bubbles in the chocolate pots de crème.
-
Place the pots de creme in the refrigerator and chill until the custard is just chilled, about one hour. Once the pots de creme are cooled, cover each serving dish lightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
-
Serve chilled and garnish each serving with whipped cream or crème fraiche, sprinkled coco powder, sea salt and chopped hazelnuts.
© 2017 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.
Tis the Season: Chocolate Bark
A thank you. A greeting. An introduction. A small gesture… A homemade gift can be all those things. Homemade treats do not have to be fancy or time consuming to make, a simple gift will do. They are always appreciated. I like making gifts, but I do not get around to making them as much as I would like. I usually think of an idea for a homemade gift too late and eventually buy something along the way. When I found this recipe for chocolate bark, I had an ah ha moment. I can do this. This recipe for chocolate bark is unusual, simple to make, beautiful to look at, and satisfies all chocolate cravings.
Dark chocolate bark ingredients
White chocolate bark ingredients
Orange zest, hibiscus flowers and lavender
I have been a fan of chocolate bark for some time now and must admit to be a total dark chocolate fanatic. A day does not go by without a chocolate snack. My dessert choice usually has chocolate as the main attraction. I can’t help myself and totally find chocolate irresistible. I discovered this recipe while reading, Seasonal Fruit Desserts, by Deborah Madison. Yes I see the perplexed expression on your face: a chocolate bark recipe in a fruit dessert cookbook? Yes, Deborah Madison is no dummy and included this recipe in her dried fruit and nuts chapter. There is something for everyone in all of her cookbooks.
Dark chocolate with dried fruits and nuts
White chocolate with edible dried flowers and orange zest
Her chocolate bark recipes are different, which was the main attraction for me. Laden in her chocolate bark are dried fruit, nuts, rose petals, citrus zest, and other floral attractions, reminding me that chocolate bark can be whatever I want it to be. The add-ins do not need to be limited to pretzels, peppermint and coconut. It can hold up to any variety of flavors that compliment chocolate, like citrus, chili, cinnamon, coffee, sea salt, ginger, and all nuts, just to name a few. One could go crazy with add-ins for chocolate bark and have a surprise in every bite. I do not recommend going too crazy, the flavors do need to get along and marry with each-other and the type of chocolate.
Chocolate bark is a welcome dessert by itself or with fruit, nuts, cookies, or sorbet. You can keep it in your refrigerator to have on hand to serve for an impromptu dinner party. Chocolate bark will also make a lovely hostess gift, or a small gift to the chocolate lover(s) in your life. A homemade gift that can easily fit into anyone’s busy schedule.
Tis the Season: Chocolate Bark
Ingredients
Dark Chocolate Bark -makes one 10 x 6 inch slab of chocolate bark
- 4 oz dark chocolate between 60% to 70% cocoa butter
- 2-3 Tb chopped candied ginger
- 2-3 Tb chopped dried apricots
- 3 Tb salted green pistachio nuts some chopped and some nuts left whole
- Pinch of flaky sea salt like Maldon
White Chocolate Bark makes one 8 x 5 inch slab of white chocolate bark
- 4 oz white chocolate good quality such as Lindt - or Lindt white chocolate with coconut
- 2 Tb finely chopped salted green pistachios
- Orange zest removed with a citrus zester in thin strips
- 1/2 tea lavender or other dried edible flower pedal like hibiscus or rose petals
Instructions
Dark Chocolate Bark
-
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
-
Put the broken up chocolate in a bowl fitted over a pot of simmering water. If you want to add any dried spices add them now as well. Make sure the simmering water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Just a small amount of water is all that is needed, no more than an inch high. Gently stir the chocolate while it is melting, and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
-
When the chocolate is melted stir in half of the chopped fruit and nuts.
-
Spread the melted chocolate over the parchment paper in a thin slab, then sprinkle the remaining fruit and nuts evenly across the bark. Gently press down of the fruit and nuts so they will stick to the chocolate when it sets. Sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt.
-
Refrigerate the chocolate until it is set, at least an hour.
White Chocolate Bark
-
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper large enough to hold a 10 x 6 inch slab
-
Add the chopped white chocolate bark to a bowl and place over a pot of simmering water. Keep the heat low and stir and scrape down the sides of the bowl while the white chocolate is melting.
-
When the white chocolate is melted, pour it out on the parchment paper and spread the chocolate into an even slab.
-
Sprinkle the remaining ingredients decoratively and evenly over the white chocolate and gently press them to adhere to the chocolate.
-
Refrigerate until set, at least an hour.
-
Break up the bark into irregular pieces and serve by itself or with other nuts, fruit, cookies or ice cream.
-
Keep the chocolate bark in an air tight container and wrapped in parchment or wax paper. Keep in the refrigerator.
© 2016 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.
Swedish Apple Pie and Stuart’s Fruit Farm
There is no denying it, the heat is turned on and the leaves are turning and dropping. Summer is over. Fall has established itself and cast a deciduous mosaic of red, orange, yellow, brown, and green leaves gleaming across the hillsides. Along with the change of season, the tempo has picked up. The quiet and relaxed pace of summer is replaced with back to business with intense purpose. No more half days on Fridays.
Despite the hurried tempo, cooler temperatures, and reminder that winter is not too far away, I love fall. It is a great time to play outside, hiking, gardening, sightseeing and foraging the last of the season’s bounty. Even though the growing season is ending, there continues to be an ample selection of vegetables and fruits to buy at the market before everything dies down for the winter. Fall belongs to apples, winter squash, pears, persimmons, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and so much more.
Recently, I visited a local apple orchard, Stuart’s Fruit Farm. It was heartwarming to see many couples, families, or just friends walking around the orchard picking apples, enjoying a crisp and sunny fall day. Children’s laughter and the excited child pitch, “I got one!” echoed across the orchard. Glee, family love, activity, and the sweet aroma of fermenting apples with trampled grass enveloped me as I walked about. I saw in the faces of the playing children the reflection of my own children as preschoolers, running and climbing around the same trees. When you are surrounded by your history, it is easy to see how simultaneously time stands still and moves forward.
I am grateful that Stuarts Fruit Farm is still here. A lot of apple orchards sold off their land to developers in the late 1980’s and 1990’s. The land is very valuable and farming work is difficult to make profitable. Stuart’s Fruit Farm recently received grants and secured a conservation easement from The Westchester Land Trust. These combined efforts will protect the farm land from development and allow the Stuart Family to own the land and continue to farm there. Stuarts has been an operating family farm since 1828, and is the “oldest working family farm in Westchester County,” (LoHud July 11, 2016).
I went to Stuarts with two purposes, take photographs of the apple orchard and buy apples. I feel so fortunate to be able to drive 6 minutes and step out on farm land. It is so close to home, I could ride my bike, or walk to the farm if I was so inspired. I love being able to go out in my neighborhood buy fruit and vegetables grown on the very same land. It is amazing to me that I live in a suburban NYC metropolitan area and have an apple orchard in my neighborhood. The additional bonus is it is not the only family farm in the Somers/Yorktown area.
I returned home with a memory card full of images, a bag full of apples, and a desire to make apple pie. Being that it was late in the afternoon, I did not have enough time to prepare a pie crust, so I decided on one of my best and easiest dessert recipes I have, Swedish Apple Pie. It is the perfect recipe for any last-minute impulse bake or invitation to dine. Swedish Apple Pie is more like a cake in texture, but because apples are the main ingredient, it satisfies like a pie.
I first discovered this dessert staying at the home of a college friend. Fortunately, her mom gave me the recipe and I have made Swedish Apple Pie for over 30 years. All you have to do is peel and slice apples, mix together flour, sugar, egg, and butter, then pour the batter over the apples and bake. It is that easy. For people who say they cannot bake, this dessert is for you. You mix it by hand without any special equipment, just a pie pan. Even if you don’t own a pie pan, just buy the aluminum pans available at the grocery store. The pie will taste just as delicious. You can make this recipe with confidence knowing it is a delicious and easy dessert that all will love.
Swedish Apple Pie is a family favorite dessert that I can practically make in my sleep. My family loves this pie so much, one of my sons asked to have it as his “Birthday Cake.” Making Swedish Apple Pie will not interrupt your play time during this gorgeous fall season. You can spend the day outside and have time leftover to bake Swedish Apple Pie. Fill your home with the aromas of baking apples and cinnamon and a reminder of a beautiful fall day well spent.
Best Apples to use for baking pie: Serious Eats recommends Braeburn and Golden Delicious apples for making pie.
I have also had good results with Granny Smith and Cortland. You want to use a crisp and drier apple, one that will not turn into applesauce when baked.
Swedish Apple Pie
Ingredients
- 5-6 apples Granny Smith, or other crisp and not too sweet apple *see notes
- 1-2 Tb granulated sugar
- 1-2 tea ground cinnamon
- 1 cup 4 oz/ 117 g all-purpose flour
- 1 cup 7 5/8 oz/ 218 g granulated sugar
- 1 stick (1/2 cup/ 4 oz/ 113 g) butter
- 1 egg
- Zest of one lemon or juice of half a lemon (optional)
- Heaping 1/4 tea of freshly grated nutmeg. If you own ground nutmeg just use a level 1/4 tea (optional)
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
-
Use a 9-inch pie pan (Pyrex or metal pans are preferred)
-
Melt the butter set aside to cool.
-
Peel, core and slice each apple and put into pie pan. Slice the apples no bigger than 1/2 inch across the bottom of each slice. The size of your pan and the size of your apples will depend on how many apples you will need. If you have a regular 9-inch pie pan start with 5 apples. You want the apples to fill the inside of the pie pan and have a slightly rounded top. Add more apples if it looks flat and you see bare spots. Optional - squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Toss to mix.
-
In a small bowl mix the 1-2 Tb of sugar with the cinnamon. The amount of sugar depends on the type of apple you are using. If you are using Granny Smith Apples you should use the full amount of sugar because they are not that sweet. All other apples are sweeter and might require using less sugar.
-
Sprinkle the sugar cinnamon mixture over the top of the apples in a nice even layer.
-
In medium size bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, ground nutmeg, and lemon zest until just combined. Add the cooled melted butter and egg, then stir until the batter is thoroughly mixed. Make sure you scrape down the sides and across the bottom of the bowl to mix in all the flour.
-
Spoon the batter over the apples starting at the center and working your way around the pan. The batter will be thick but still fluid, and will slightly ease over the apples and into holes. Try to evenly spread the batter in an even layer all around the apples, then spread it into any holes. The batter should read as one smooth top.
-
Put the pie pan on a sheet pan and place in the oven. Bake, checking to see if it is done beginning at the 45-minute mark. The cooking time will vary depending on the number of apples you have. For me, it has consistently baked at least an hour and often a little longer. The pie is done when the crust is golden brown all across the top, and none of the crust looks uncooked. You will get some crispy crust along the edges and a cake-like middle, not mushy, or too moist.
-
When it is done baking, take the pie out of the oven and let it completely cool to room temperature before serving.
-
Serve with vanilla ice cream or creme anglais. Caramel sauce is a delicious addition with the ice cream.
Recipe Notes
When testing this recipe I used Cortland Apples. Over the years I have used many different types of apples, but the best ones are apples that are well suited to baking. Some good examples are, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and Cortland apples. You want very crisp apples that are not too sweet. You can even use more than one type of apple. McIntosh apples and Red Delicious apples do not work well because they are a softer apple and your pie will become apple sauce.
© 2016 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.
Aquafaba Meringue
A year ago I read an article on Food52 about an amazing food discovery – aquafaba. Aquafaba is bean water that comes from canned beans or home cooked beans. This is an ingredient that is unseemly and easy to ignore. I sometimes use it in hummus, but I mostly just pour it down the drain. Fortunately, some very clever and persistent people discovered that aquafaba has similar properties to egg whites and could be whipped into stiff peaks and make aquafaba meringue. This amazing discovery for an egg substitute has changed vegan baking, and general baking, forever.
Aquafaba from a can of chickpeas
At first, I struggled visualizing a white and fluffy aquafaba meringue, just the smell alone of chickpea brine, (especially canned) will deter anyone from considering there is merit in that broth. Vegan baking is a challenging concept for me.
I often wonder, how do you bake without eggs? It is the glue that holds everything together and gives structure and texture to baked desserts. Could aquafaba really replace egg whites? I trust Food52 and their research, and I saw aquafaba was a trending discussion all over the web. My curiosity was sparked, and a year later, after relishing making and eating egg white meringue desserts-lemon meringue pie, dacquoise, pavlova, coconut chocolate meringue cookies, I finally put my mind to it and convinced myself it was time to make aquafaba meringues.
Soft peaks of aquafaba meringue
Stiff and glossy peaks of aquafaba meringue
To learn more about aquafaba check out these Facebook pages, Aquafaba Everything and Vegan Meringue Hit and Misses
Also The official aquafaba website.
© 2016 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.
