As has become our tradition since we started dating, I make my husband and I a "fancy" dinner every New Year's Eve. We really are not much for going out on that night. Last New Year's Eve I was super pregnant. This past New Year's Eve we had an almost 11 month old baby girl with us. So, once again we stayed in and I made my fancy dinner.
We ended this fancy dinner with some special champagne cocktails (click here for my Sweetheart Sorbet Champagne Floats recipe) and these Triple Chocolate Almond Creme Brulees. Yes, I made these for New Year's, but as we were indulging in each creamy bite I couldn't help but to think ahead as to how amazingly decadent these creme brulees would be for after a special Valentine's Day dinner. And so I held onto to this little gem of a recipe until now... ;)
What you will need:
1 pint of heavy cream
1/4 cup + 3 tbsp sugar
5 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 oz baker's chocolate, chopped
2 oz of a dark chocolate bar, chopped
1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup of sliced almonds, toasted
Sugar for caramelizing on top
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Lightly spray 4 oven safe ramekins with cooking spray and set aside.
Heat the cream and 1/4 cup of sugar over medium heat in a small saucepan. When the sugar has completely dissolved and the cream has simmered just a little, remove from the heat.
Add in the chocolate chips, baker's chocolate, and dark chocolate to the cream/sugar mixture. Whisk until well incorporated and smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Then whisk in the vanilla and almond extract.
Slowly pour the chocolate/cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking as you pour.
Set some water to boil on the stove.
Fill each ramekin with the chocolate creme brulee mixture. Set the filled ramekins into a roasting pan. Then fill the pan with boiling water until the water is halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake for about 1 hour or until the custards are set. Remove the ramekins from the pan and allow them to cool slightly. Then transfer the brulees to the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Right before you are ready to serve your brulees, top each one with about 1 tablespoon of sugar. I actually used turbinado sugar on mine. You can caramelize the sugar by either setting the brulees under the broiler in your oven for 1-2 minutes or by using a kitchen torch. As soon as you caramelize the sugar, sprinkle the tops of each one with the toasted almond slices.
And there you have it- a rich, decadent, chocolaty, creamy dessert to end your Valentine's Day dinner with. Or any dinner... Or just because you love dark chocolate.
Still looking for am easy yet impressive Valentine's Day dinner idea? Did you happen to catch my Herb & Apple Roasted Chicken recipe from last week? ;)
*This recipe is adapted from THIS ONE from marthastewart.com.
Triple Chocolate Almond Creme Brulee
by
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour then refrigerate 1 hour
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 1 pint of heavy cream
- 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp sugar
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1 oz baker's chocolate, chopped
- 2 oz of a dark chocolate bar, chopped
- 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup of sliced almonds, toasted
- Sugar for caramelizing on top
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Lightly spray 4 oven safe ramekins with cooking spray and set aside.
Heat the cream and 1/4 cup of sugar over medium heat in a small saucepan. When the sugar has completely dissolved and the cream has simmered just a little, remove from the heat.
Add in the chocolate chips, baker's chocolate, and dark chocolate to the cream/sugar mixture. Whisk until well incorporated and smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Then whisk in the vanilla and almond extract.
Slowly pour the chocolate/cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking as you pour.
Set some water to boil on the stove.
Fill each ramekin with the chocolate creme brulee mixture. Set the filled ramekins into a roasting pan. Then fill the pan with boiling water until the water is halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake for about 1 hour or until the custards are set. Remove the ramekins from the pan and allow them to cool slightly. Then transfer the brulees to the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Right before you are ready to serve your brulees, top each one with about 1 tablespoon of sugar. I actually used turbinado sugar on mine. You can caramelize the sugar by either setting the brulees under the broiler in your oven for 1-2 minutes or by using a kitchen torch. As soon as you caramelize the sugar, sprinkle the tops of each one with the toasted almond slices.
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