When my husband and I attended my older sister’s wedding in 2007 in Paris, I recall the most delicious store-bought dairy dessert I discovered at my very dear friend Nathalie’s house. We had a lovely dinner and finished the meal with Bonne Maman brand miniature jars of petits pots de crème. But unlike the ones I usually prepare, these pots de crème had a much heavier, thicker, smooth and creamy texture. Unfortunately, this product has been discontinued; Lulu and I searched for it during our most recent trip to France without success.
This is my attempt to recreate that lovely French dessert. The dessert is made with a lot of white chocolate, a fair amount of heavy cream, butter and eggs. I flavored it with apricots from our garden and amaretto to enhance the apricot flavor.
I served the dessert with a fresh fruit salad and a small scoop of rum raisin ice cream for a little temperature and texture contrast.
1. Info for Apricot Pot de Creme Recipe
- Cook Time: 50 min
- Total Time: 1 hr 20 min
- Servings: 6
- Calories: 325 kcal
2. Ingredients for Apricot Pot de Creme Recipe
- 6 fresh ripe apricots
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 tablespoon amaretto
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 10 ounces Belgian white chocolate, finely chopped
- 6 fresh mint leaves, for garnish
- powdered sugar, for dusting
3. Directions:
3.1 For the apricots
Peel the apricots and remove the pits. Meltát tablespthat1of butter in a non-stick pan. Add the apricots and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Drizzle with Amaretto liqueur. Transfer to a blender, then place the pulp in a double-layered cheese cloth. Wrap it and make a knot at the tip and suspend it over the colander using chopsticks. Let stand for at least 15 minutes.
3.2 Making the pot de crème
In a saucepan, heat the cream. Bring to a near boil (don’t over-cook; otherwise the fat might start separating and create an oily layer on top of the dessert). Decrease the heat to low; immediately add the white chocolate and let steep for 2-3 minutes. Using a spatula, stir until the chocolate is fully incorporated. Add the remaining butter. Mix until smooth.
In a mixing bowl, whisk 4 egg yolks with the remaining sugar for 4-5 minutes (no need to add an excessive amount of sugar since the white chocolate is already sweetened). Add the apricot pulp.
Combine the dairy liquid with the egg mixture by slowly adding a ladle of the dairy liquid at a time to prevent the yolks from curdling.
In a stainless steel mixing bowl, place the 2 egg whites. Add salt. Beat the egg whites for about 2 minutes at medium speed. Increase to the maximum speed and keep beating for another 2-3 minutes until the whites are stiff. Do not overbeat or the texture will become grainy. Add the vanilla extract.
Pour ⅓ of the egg white mixture into the apricot mixture and gently stir everything to soften the batter. Pour in the rest of the egg whites and, using a wooden spoon, gently fold the egg whites into the custard to get an airy batter.
3.3 Assembly time
Fill 6 (4.5-ounce) ramekins with the custard. Place them in a warm water bath in a deep baking pan. The water should go half-way up the side of the ramekins (at least a 1½”-high level of water). Place in the oven for 20 minutes.
Let stand for at least 1 hour.
Serve with the fresh fruit salad on the side and a small scoop of ice cream. Garnish with fresh mint and a dusting of powdered sugar.
Bon appétit!
4. Tips and advices:
- While letting the white chocolate chips steep in the dairy mixture, it’s preferable to stir the mixture until the liquid is smooth rather than whisking, so you create as little milk froth as possible. You don’t want latte foam to form on the top.
