These chocolate pots de crème – “jars of cream” – couldn’t be any easier to make and yet they couldn’t feel any more luxurious. Easy to make in advance, they’re perfect to serve at a dinner party: effortless and pre-portioned, all you have to do is garnish with a little cream and voila! You have dessert in a teacup.

You’d think a French dessert that’s rich and indulgent would involve at least a dozen steps and unimaginable techniques, but pots de crème are nothing but custard that’s typically served in a cup.

It’s as easy as warming cream on the stovetop and pouring into little jars. It’s just pudding! Well, as easy as pudding, except it’s silkier and much denser and it doesn’t rely on cornstarch for thickness, but the rich and miraculous mix of egg yolks, cream, and sugar that’s simmered until smooth and thick.

I’m fascinated by rich desserts that are made of simple ingredients that you are likely to have on hand. French cuisine is full of such miraculous recipes: crème brulée is nothing more than cream, eggs, and sugar thrown together then baked. Crêpes are basically paper-thin pancakes. Chocolate mousse can be just as simple as melting chocolate, sugar, and cream together.

Dairy products, essential ingredients for French cooking, are found in all types, shapes and forms in French classics. They are the building blocks of decadent desserts and one can’t help but wonder how such simple ingredients can be manipulated and turned into little things that are so beautiful and delicious.

These Chocolate Pots de Crème, not nearly as popular as crème brulée, are just that: a handful of staple ingredients turned into an unbelievably rich and delightful dessert.

What is Chocolate Pots de Crème?

Technically a custard, Chocolate Pots de Crème is rich and dense like pudding. It follows the same format: milk, cream, and sugar are heated on the stove, then mixed with egg yolks and finally, combined with chocolate.

The difference here is the absence of cornstarch, which has a tendency to muddy the chocolate flavor and sometimes ruin the texture of a dessert. In this classic French recipe, that thick and rich texture is achieved by egg yolks and cream.

This all takes minutes to prepare. While some recipes call for baking chocolate pots in a low temperature water bath, for this one the egg yolks are tempered and the creamy mixture is cooked in a saucepan over moderate heat, then chilled.

Ingredients for the Perfect Chocolate Pots de Crème

You only need heavy cream, chocolate, sugar and eggs for this recipe. Because this is such a rich, chocolatey dessert, the rather small serving portions are actually ideal: a few spoonfuls is enough to satisfy a sugar craving or end a lovely meal.

Most recipes call for semi-sweet dark chocolate, but this one uses both milk and bittersweet chocolates. Created by Frank Urso, I found it years ago and have made it countless times. It’s such a special and impressive dessert, it’s great to serve at dinner parties. You can easily make it ahead of time, store the pots in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap then add some garnish before serving. It’s likely your guests will never guess how easy these were to make and how little ingredients they required. That’s the beauty of French desserts.

I like to serve them with a dollop of creme fraiche or whipped cream and chocolate shavings, but traditionally they’re eaten as is, no fuss.

How to Make Chocolate Pots de Crème on the Stovetop

In order to streamline the process, it’s important to put everything in its place before you start. That’s called mise en place in French and imperative in baking. Add the chocolates to a large bowl, then egg yolks to another bowl, and the cream, milk, and sugar to a saucepan.

Once the milk and cream mixture have come to a simmer, it’s time to temper the egg yolks. Think of it this way: eggs are temperamental and must be tempered.

Eggs can be very sensitive. They easily scramble and curdle. In hot temperatures, it happens almost instantly. And since eggs have great thickening powers when it comes to achieving a creamy texture in desserts, that’s not very desirable. I’m sure you don’t want bits of scrambled egg in your chocolate pot de creme.

How to Temper Eggs

So tempering eggs is just a way to avoid all of that. The goal is to cook eggs slowly, rather than all at once, so that they provide body and richness to the dish without any of that curdling eggs love to do.

Essentially, tempering eggs means slowly diluting them with a bit of the hot liquid before letting them into the pot. This gives the eggs a head start in cooking and makes it harder for their proteins to link up and form bonds (i.e., get scrambled) as they’re heated.

So when you’re putting everything in its place, have a whisk and ladle nearby. Once the milk mixture is hot, use the ladle to slowly dribble it into the egg yolks, whisking constantly all the while. Keep adding milk until the egg yolks are warm, about half the milk mixture.

Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan, still whisking constantly and continue to cook, stirring frequently until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.

In order to ensure your custard is entirely lump-free, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the chocolate and there you go! Perfectly smooth, silky, and creamy.

If you make this Chocolate Pots de Crème please be sure to leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you and I love responding to every comment. And don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram. I’d love to see your photos!