Recipe: Melissa Hemsley's Little Chocolate Pots
Photo: Issy Croker
These lovely little pots are not only rich and smooth, they use just five ingredients and take only five minutes to make. They are perfect for preparing ahead of time as they need to set in the fridge, then all you need to do is pull them out at pudding time and grate over a little chocolate to serve. You can use any type of milk here. Nut milk makes the mixture moussier and lighter. Coconut milk makes it really rich and quite thick but without tasting coconutty. These pots will keep, covered, in the fridge or freezer for a few days. If freezing, allow to defrost for 40 minutes before serving.
Ingredients
180ml any milk
140g dark (70%–85%) chocolate, broken into squares
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
TO SERVE (OPTIONAL) Sea salt flakes
1 handful of fresh raspberries or cherries or a mixture
Method
1. Gently heat the milk in a saucepan for about 45 seconds until hot all the way through.
2. Place 120g of the chocolate in a high-powered blender or food processor with the maple syrup, egg and vanilla extract.
3. Very carefully pour a quarter of the hot milk into the blender or food processor (or use a ladle, if you prefer) and blend until smooth, then repeat, adding a quarter of the milk at a time, until all the milk is combined and the mixture is silky smooth. (You need to add the hot milk slowly so that it doesn’t scramble the egg.)4. Pour into four small ramekins or glasses and leave in the fridge for a minimum of 1½ hours, or 1 hour in the freezer, to set.
5. When you’re ready to serve, grate over the remaining dark chocolate or top with a sprinkling of sea salt flakes or a few fresh raspberries or cherries.
● Tip
If using coconut milk, you’ll need the full-fat kind, which tends to separate in the tin, so pour it out, give it a stir and measure out 180ml for this dish, then use the rest in soups or smoothies.