Chocolate creme caramel

You have to make crème caramel at least once in a lifetime, or eat it. Personally I like it, but I think it's very sweet. The chocolate in this creme caramel is just the right counterpart to the sweetness and makes this a very good dessert. If you want to serve a delicious dessert, which looks great, this is your chance!

And the thing that makes it even better is the special creme caramel form. That's one of the reasons I like this recipe, just for it looks when I'm cooking.
There is one reminder for this recipe: besides the preparation time, it also takes a couple of hours to stiffen the custard. So make sure you've got enough time before dinner, when you are making this dessert!

Ingredients:

• 100 grams sugar;
• 2 tablespoons cold water;
• 500 mL whole milk;
• 10 mL vanilla-extract;
• 5 cardamom pods, crushed;
• 90 grams dark chocolate, at least 70 % cocoa;
• 3 eggs (L);
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar.

Materials:

• Charlotte form;
• Baking dish for the water bath.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Put the baking dish with hot water in the oven.
Brush the bottom and sides of the Charlotte form with oil.
In a baking pan mix the sugar with the water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sugar turned into caramel and has got a golden brown color. At that moment turn of the heat and poor the hot caramel into the Charlotte form. Turn the form around, making sure to coat the bottom and sides of the form.

In a second pan poor in the milk and add the cardamom pods and vanilla-extract. Bring to a boil and turn of the heat. Break the chocolate in small pieces and add to the milk mixture. Make sure the chocolate melts into the mixture. Set aside for 20 minutes so the flavours of the cardamom sets in the chocolate milk. Put a fine sieve on a bowl and sieve the chocolate mixture.
In a second bowl mix on high speed the eggs with the brown sugar for one minute. Add the chocolate milk and mix through and through. Poor into the Charlotte form and place the form in the oven.
Leave it in the oven for 50 minutes. Check if the chocolate creme are ready by shaking the mold slightly. The center of the creme should be almost set but not fully as this will set when cooling down.
Let it cool down to room temperature. Then put the form into the refrigerator and cool for another 2 minutes. Unmold the chocolate creme caramel on a plate and serve.

Tips and tricks:

• If you don't have a Charlotte form, but you've got small ramekins, that is fine to. This recipe is enough for 6 small ramekins;
• If you want to make it even more spectacular, dust the top with cocoa;
• If the chocolate creme caramel doesn't unmold immediately, put the outside of the form in hot water for about 2 minutes. The creme caramel will unmold easily afterwards.

4Pure: chocolate creme caramel