Kahlua Chocolate Pots de Creme & Thyme Whipped Cream

This is my lunchbox revival. A chance to remember the moments that are hard to forget. I can flip through the written pages in my mind to a time when chocolate pudding was synonymous with cafeterias and school lunches and being a kid. I can even remember the sound made when you pulled back the plastic lid on your pudding like it was yesterday. I lived for lunchtime. Dessert time.


Growing up chocolate was my calling card. If Superman had kryptonite, I had that. It made me weak and foolish. If my mom needed something done around the house it would be followed with a threat of no dessert, no chocolate. I don't know if that's even legal. Certainly there's some unwritten parent code that you can't pull out the no-dessert comment to get something done. It doesn't even work.


Ok, it worked.

As the years have passed, the same bad good habits have followed me. I still need chocolate to pull me out of a funk and I can still be bribed with it. Sad. You would think I learned my lesson by now and be mentally strong enough to withstand it. I'm not. Luckily i'm the one making dinner and dessert now. I have a bit more say on the direction it takes.


I wanted to make something that satisfied my chocolate needs in a dessert that harks back to those younger, sometimes better days. This is my grown up version. A rich and thick pudding loaded with flavour that's like having a chocolate injection after dinner. 

This recipe is a traditional French custard. Although it often calls for dark chocolate,  I used milk-chocolate because it gives me a smooth and silky finish to the pudding. It's just a bit smoother which is the way I like it. It's the perfect dessert because the prep is quick and the presentation is easy. 


Enjoy this the next time you have guests coming over or surprise your partner with this on Valentine's Day (speaking of which, food and poetry is the best way to your partner's hear. See below). You can make it a couple days ahead of time serve them in countless different vessels. I used small coffee cups but the choice is yours.


From my kitchen to yours, happy eating!

Kahlua Chocolate Pots de Creme


The Goods:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup Kahlua
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 6 oz. milk-chocolate, chopped
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• pinch of salt
• whipped cream mix with 2 tbsp. finely chopped thyme, for garnish
• Shaved chocolate, for garnish

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Add the chopped chocolate to a large bowl and let sit. Meanwhile, heat the cream and a pinch of salt in a saucepan until it just comes to a bowl. Remove from the heat and pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Once it cools slightly, add in the Kahlua and vanilla and stir.
3. In another mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar to blend. Slowly add in the warm chocolate mixture while stirring often. Strain the entire mixture through a sieve into another bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.
4. Divide the mixture amongst 6 ramekins or cups 3/4 cup in size. Cover each with foil and place on a baking pan filled with hot water so the cups are half-immersed in water. 
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until set but middle moves slightly when shaken. Remove from the water and remove foil. 
6. Cover each with plastic wrap and chill until cold, about 3 hours.
7. Serves 6.

**Valentine's Day is right around the corner now. I'd like to think I won my wife over with my food, but that wasn't entirely the case. I wrote stories and poems to her, and in honour of the most romantic day of the year I give you this: the first poem I ever wrote to her.

Listening to jazz--
punctuated by falling rain
as it hits each window pane--
my mind wanders in and out of you,
curious, yet
cautious

I make excuses
why you're not quite for me
when really
I've no right to say--
but everyone before you
has ended in just
me,
so why should now be
any different?

Not that i'm looking for a
we--
not just yet, but
maybe
someday
when my heart finally decides
to fall for this mysterious woman
in the unwritten pages of my future,
when i'm no longer a fool for trying
because I don't have to try
I just have to be
me--

And then I'll be there
and one
with you
and we'll embrace
listening to jazz
punctuated by falling rain
as it hits each window pane--
and we'll laugh at how incomplete
the music was before us
and we'll weep at the beautiful harmony
we create--
you and me.
Continue Reading...

Chocolate Soufflé

I don't remember the first time it started taking shape. I've been fascinated with food and for as long as I can remember I've always collected them. When my friends would collect sports cards or, dare I say it, coins (well, not my friends but somebody was doing it) I would be trying to get my hands on a new cookbook. Like a vinyl record, I couldn't wait to get it home and enjoy it. But after I get them they tend to sit for long periods of time. 

I still flip through them. I love the sound and feeling of the pages pushing one another over like dominoes. I'll grab a cup of coffee in the morning and look at the pictures for inspiration. Some of the images are straight up food porn, both tempting and mouth-watering. Now I don't usually recite a recipe or copy down main components of it. It's just not my thing. But I will use the recipe as my muse and flip the switch on it. 



I can remember the moment when I first saw this image of a souffle a few years ago and it has stuck with me. It wasn't chocolate but it was lovely enough to cling to one of the banks where my memory washes up to from time to time. It was a raspberry souffle that looked incredibly fluffy and light. To this day when I think of a souffle I think of that beautiful picture. It hooked me in. Big fish style.

The problem that stymied me was trying to make this lovely chocolate creation. I used to look at an image of a souffle and convince myself that it wasn't in my repertoire. It looked too beautiful, too scientific, too French. I thought there was a secret to the madness and I didn't hold the key to unlock it. So I passed on it. Again and again. But one day came when I threw caution to the wind and decided I would attempt to climb that mental mountain. 

I now regret all those years of waiting.


A great soufflé has to be light with a thick, creamy interior. Some chocolate soufflé recipes are made with cocoa alone, but I prefer a good quality dark chocolate incorporated with cocoa when I make mine and the results speak for themselves. The key is using the best quality chocolate you can buy, which goes without saying. The first bite will have you singing. It's really, really good. Almost orgasmic.


The really fascinating thing about making your own soufflé is watching them rise in the oven. It's the show before the main event. It's kind of like sitting by your window as a kid and eagerly awaiting for all your friends to show up. And they always did. 


The key in making the soufflé rise is brushing your butter in strokes upwards on the inside your ramekin or dish. It helps guide the mixture up and out, almost guiding it as it moves. And when it starts to inch up inside the oven you won't be able to contain your happiness. You'll always remember that moment the first time you make it.

If loving souffles wasn't bad enough, I also have this thing for chocolate. I crave it and usually can't get enough of it. It's the sweet and savoury aspect that locks me in. I'm hooked, and I don't see it changing any time soon. From the first bite to the last, this souffle satisfies those needs. It oozes chocolate goodness. It's rich and wonderful. 


The best part of a recipe like this is sharing it with your favourite person in the world. That's an easy one for me. My wife. She's off on a shoot today. She had to drive through a snowstorm to a destination a couple hours away, but I can't wait to have this with her when she gets back. The sweet finish to a great day!


From my kitchen to yours, happy eating!

Chocolate Souffle

The Goods:

• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• 50 grams dark chocolate (70% cocoa), grated
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 vanilla pod
• pinch of salt

Prep:

1. Brush the softened butter over the sides and bottom of the ramekin. For the sides, apply upward strokes to allow the souffle to rise vertically. Next, mix some of the grated chocolate and sugar and pour into one ramekin, shake it around so all sides are covered and dump into the next ramekin. Once both are coated, refridgerate until ready.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites in a bowl until they are foamy. Add 1/3 cup sugar and beat gradually. Continue until the egg whites have medium-soft peaks.
3. Meanwhile, stir the chopped chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan with simmering water until melted. Remove from the heat. Add the water and cocao powder and  mix until combined and smooth. Fold a bit of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Fold more, 1/4 at a time, until well combined.
4. Divide the souffle batter among the ramekins and, using a butter knife, level the the top so it's flush with the top of each ramekin. Wipe the edge clean.
5. Bake the souffles on a baking sheet until they lift up by an 1" or more, but are still moist in the middle, about 12 minutes.
6. Serves 2.

 
**This post made Foodbuzz Top 9!