The Cultural Dish: Moroccan Pots de Creme

Valentine's Day is this weekend, and if you have not figured out what you want to make for your sweetheart (or hell, even yourself), then check out my Top 5 Valentine's Day Recipes here.

Today, for the Food Network Blog - FN Dish - I am creating a new chocolatey recipe just in time for the big day - Moroccan Pots de Creme. This recipe was inspired from a restaurant that my husband and I have frequented - Yella - in Andover, Massachusetts. It is a very small restaurant with only about 12 tables, and it is run by a husband and wife team. The husband is Lebanese and cooks up all sorts of dishes from his homeland, as well as an array of Mediterranean scrumptiousness! Naturally, one of those items is their Moroccan Pots de Creme. Now, I do not know there exact recipe, but I love it so much, that I just had to try and replicate it as best as I could!

Moroccan Pots de Creme

*Please note, this recipe can me made without the Moroccan spices for a regular Pots de Creme. I also reduced the ingredients to only make 2-3 servings instead of 4-6.

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 cups heavy cream
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 cinnamon stick
-1/4 to 1/2 generous teaspoon Moroccan seasoning
-2 egg yolks
-4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
-Splash of vanilla

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place your chopped chocolate in a medium-sized bowl and set aside. In another similar sized bowl, place your egg yolks. Set aside.

Pour the cream, sugar, cinnamon stick, and Moroccan seasoning in a small pot and place on low to medium heat until the mixture is just about to simmer and the sugar is dissolved. You do not want this to boil, but it will not be the end of the world if that happens.

Immediately pour the cream mixture into the bowl with the chocolate, and slowly whisk until all of the chocolate melts and you are left with a nice chocolatey mixture (can take up to 5 minutes). Then, working quickly, pour a little (about 1 cups worth) of the chocolate mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks and whisk vigorously so that the egg yolks do not cook. This will temper the eggs so that you do not end up with a scrambled egg dessert. Once you have tempered the eggs, you can pour the rest of the chocolate mixture in and whisk until all ingredients are combined.

Pour the mixture into ramekins, and place the ramekins in a deeper pan so that you can fill the pan with hot water about halfway up the sides of the ramekins (you are giving these a water bath). Bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes until the custards start to set but are still a little jiggly in the center. The custards will continue to form as they cool, so do not over-bake.

Don't mind the pan - it's my "water bath pan"

Remove ramekins from the water bath and let cool slightly before wrapping and placing in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to chill. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and even an extra sprinkle of Moroccan seasoning!

Happy Valentine's Day!