Chocolate Pots de Crème
In his new cookbook Everyday Chef: Simple Dishes for Family and Friends, Jeremy Sewall shares easy, comforting dishes like this one for Chocolate Pots de Crème.
By Yankee Magazine|Oct 03 2025|
Jeremy Sewall's Chocolate Pots de Crème
Photo Credit: Michael Harlan TurkellIn his new cookbook Everyday Chef: Simple Dishes for Family and Friends, Jeremy Sewall shifts from restaurant showstoppers to easy, comforting dishes designed for any night of the week. Here’s how Jeremy’s wife Lisa describes a favorite quick dessert:
This fancy version of chocolate pudding is a crowd favorite and easy to master. The custards will last for a few days in the refrigerator, so feel free to make them ahead of time. To change things up, you can use milk chocolate rather than semi-sweet. If you want to gild the lily, top these with fresh whipped cream.
Read senior food editor Amy Traverso’s Q&A with Jeremy Sewall:
Jeremy Sewall on Cooking at Home (and Why You Should Buy the Stock)
Ingredients
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
¾ cup heavy cream
4 egg yolks
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup whole milk
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
Finely chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Scald the cream and pour over the chocolate. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes. Whisk the chocolate mixture completely smooth.
In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs in small amounts, whisking between additions. Whisk until incorporated.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt and add the milk in a thin stream while whisking constantly. Smooth out any lumps. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to steam.
Add half of the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture in a thin stream while whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Once the first half is incorporated, whisk in the remaining milk mixture. Stir in the vanilla.
Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into four 4-ounce ramekins. (They should be about three-quarters full.) Place the ramekins in a high-sided pan and fill the pan with water that reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the edges of the custards are set and the middles are still slightly wobbly, about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the ramekins to cool in the water for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the ramekins from the water and allow to cool at room temperature for another 30 minutes. Cover the custards and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 4 days.
