Chocolate Graveyard Pots de Creme

Halloween is just over a week away, and I’m in full-on Halloween party food testing mode! Today I want to share with you this recipe for Chocolate Pots de Creme – with a spooky twist!

The recipe that inspired me to make these can be found over at MyRecipes.

To make 4 half-cup servings, you will need:

• 7 ounces of semi-sweet baking chocolate (or milk chocolate if you prefer)
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/4c heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbs Kahlua (or other coffee-flavored) liqueur
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2c crushed Oreos
• 4 Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies
• (optional) Edible pen or black icing to pipe text on the “tombstone” cookies

Special equipment:

• Food thermometer
• Blender or food processor

Start by processing the chocolate in your blender or food processor until it is finely chopped.  Get all of the chocolate out of the blender you can. Pour it  into a small bowl and set aside.

Put the egg and yolk into the blender or food processor and blend until just beaten. Leave it in there, and tell you’ll BRB.

This is the chocolate I used. You could, of course, get the more expensive stuff, but I always have this kind on hand.

Heat the cream in the microwave until it boils – about 3 minutes.

Now… this part is tedious. Pour a tiny bit of the cream (a few tablespoons)  into the blender with the eggs. Process. Keep going with about 1/3c of cream at a time. The goal is to not scramble the eggs with the hot cream. This process is called “tempering the egg.” Knowledge is power! Also, sorry for no pic of this – I was trying not to scramble the egg.

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Check the temperature of the mixture with a thermometer (instant-read if you have one; I don’t). I left it in about 15 seconds and my mixture was only about 140 degrees F. If the temperature is under 160, pop it pack into the microwave in 20-second intervals until it reaches 160 degrees. I went a little over, to about 170 degrees, and panicked a little when the mixture had a couple of lumps – but don’t worry, it turned out fine after it was blended again.

Combine the chocolate, hot cream/egg mixture, Kahlua, and vanilla extract in the blender; pulse until smooth.

Pour out into small ramekins or glasses and refrigerate for about an hour before serving. This will make about 4 half-cup ramekin servings; the glasses I used for the photo were a bit larger, so it only made two. Which was convenient, because only had 2 of those glasses, and these were great for my husband and I to sit down and watch House with.

I ended up eating about a third and refrigerating the rest (covered with saran wrap) to have later. It is definitely chocolate overload (but in a good way)!

Anyway. Add the crushed Oreos on top before serving, and push a “tombstone cookie” into the chocolate.

I thought of also adding a gummy worm instead of (or in addition to) the Milano cookie! Have fun with it!

These can be made up to a day in advance of your party. Their texture is at its best after they sit out for about 30 minutes if they have been refrigerated overnight, which is perfect for entertaining!