It's a crème brûlée encore today. Given the chocoholic that I am, how could I not make a chocolate version. In fact, any time I make or eat a non-chocolate dessert, some part of me is wondering if there is or could be a chocolate version of it. That is just how I was programmed.
Before I even got my little kitchen blow torch for Christmas, I saw and pulled out a lightened-up milk chocolate crème brûlée recipe from Cooking Light that I wanted to try. I was a little presumptuous, I admit, in expecting Santa to bring me that torch.
Now with blow torch in hand, I looked at that recipe and decided to change it up. I did away with the milk chocolate and went with dark. My heart wanted dark chocolate despite the rationalization that the sweeter milk chocolate would probably work better in a "lightened" version using milk instead of cream for the custard. Not only that, milk chocolate melts better with liquid than dark chocolate, which tends to be stubborn. But regardless, I generally prefer dark chocolate these days.
I did stick with using milk (instead of cream or half and half) for this chocolate custard. You just need to be a little patient in the melting process. I also kept the amaretto in the recipe. That was an element that really appealed to me because my husband and I love a good splash of amaretto in our desserts.
This is kind of like a bruleed pot de crème, except there's no "crème". But even without cream, it's certainly creamy and what you might give up in richness, you make up for with more pronounced chocolate flavor. Using milk in the custard leaves you with a clearer taste of that underlying chocolate, and the touch of amaretto liqueur. It's kind of like gelato versus ice cream.
I called on my handy stash of pistachios to break up the visual monotony of all the darkness (chopped almonds would be a great choice, too) but taste-wise, I am all for full-on deep chocolate flavor. This chocolate-amaretto crème brûlée is a real treat but it didn't leave us feeling weighed down. This is the magic of cooking/baking at home and being able to tweak a few things here and there to your own liking. My recipe makes two and I say this qualifies as a very romantic dessert for Valentine's Day if chocolate is your thing. I hope it is.
This is kind of like a bruleed pot de crème, except there's no "crème". But even without cream, it's certainly creamy and what you might give up in richness, you make up for with more pronounced chocolate flavor. Using milk in the custard leaves you with a clearer taste of that underlying chocolate, and the touch of amaretto liqueur. It's kind of like gelato versus ice cream.
