Chocolate-Ancho Crème Brûlée
Ancho chilies and chocolate make this crème Brûlée intriguingly delicious.
Ingredients
3 cups whipping cream
1 cinnamon stick
1 dried Ancho chili with seeds, stemmed, chopped
Pinch of ground cumin
1/3 cup plus 6 teaspoon sugar
6 ounces bittersweet (no unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine first 4 ingredients and 1/3 cup sugar in a heavy large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk egg yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot chocolate mixture and strain. Divide custard among eight 3/4-cup custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place cups in heavy large baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Bake custards until almost set in center, about 35 minutes. Remove cups from water and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
To serve sprinkle the sugar mixture over custards. Brown with a kitchen blow torch until sugar melts and caramelizes.
If you don't have a kitchen torch use a broiler. Broil until sugar melts and caramelizes, watching carefully and turning often, about 2 minutes.
Bon Appétit September 2002Bomba Dia, Omaha, NE