Spicy Chocolate Pots

Roughly chop and put in medium heatproof bowl with fine strainer set above:
275 g. 80% cocoa chocolate (or mix of 100% and 60%, etc.)

In medium heavy-bottomed saucepan whisk well until a pale yellow:
5 egg yolks
80 g. sugar
3 g. kosher salt

Then whisk in:
450 g. heavy cream
130 g. whole milk

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon until thickened and reads 175-180 degrees on cooking thermometer, 8-12 minutes. DO NOT LET BUBBLE.

Immediately pour through strainer over chocolate. Let stand 5 minutes, then whisk gently until smooth.

Whisk in:
15 g. vanilla extract
1 g. cayenne pepper

Divide into 6-8 ramekins and chill for at least 2 hours. Before serving bring to room temperature and garnish as desired. Powdered sugar and shaved chocolate look nice!

NOTE: These are silky smooth and hard to mess up. The flavor of the cayenne will develop as they chill, so don’t add more thinking you can’t taste it! Don’t use all 100% cocoa, it won’t combine as well. If all you have on hand is chocolate chips, this will still work, just won’t be as intensely chocolatey.

This is a fun recipe to play with! If you would rather a different flavor, you can substitute other extracts or flavors for the cayenne pepper. Orange zest, espresso powder, chili powder, peppermint, hazelnut…once it slightly sets, you can swirl through salted caramel, peanut butter, homemade mallow…whatever your tastes are! If you come up with something good, please add it in the comments.

This is the candy thermometer I am using: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AQL25/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000AQL25&linkCode=as2&tag=damnrecipe-20&linkId=7e4a06d77a2be7be32d2d55e51851be9

I like it because it is very simple, the display is very precise, and the shield flips down which is critical when you are making caramels or other candies that steam, it keeps the display from fogging. I have had this for at least a decade, and it still works perfectly.