A fancy name for a deliciously simple dessert! These little dishes of rich and luscious chocolate cream are no-bake and terribly decadent.

Pots de creme (pronounced poh-de-krem) is basically a very fancy and frilly way to say a pot filled with chocolate cream. Chocolate cream pot. Pots de creme. You say potato, I say…well, you get the picture.

It doesn’t matter what you call them, these little dishes of chocolate heaven are so simple to make (we’re talking no-bake and 10 minutes start to finish, not counting chilling time), they taste other-worldly (that’s a good thing), and look beautiful (as in, rock star status complete).

Three white ramekins filled with cooked chocolate pots de creme, and topped with whipped cream and pomegranate seeds.

Desserts like these (and creme brûlée comes to mind, too), often seem out of reach and way too fancy shmancy pants.

That’s why it took me years to even attempt creme brûlée and clearly longer to make chocolate pots de creme. Both times, I was kicking myself for waiting considering how easy they turned out to be.

What I love most? They are killer for serving to guests; the huge bonus being that they can (and should) be made ahead of time. So there’s no fussing around finishing dessert and stressing about oven timelines when everyone arrives.

A white ramekin filled with chocolate cream topped with whipped cream and pomegranate seeds, with a spoon taking a bite out.

We are getting together for Christmas Eve dinner with my aunt and her family. It took me about five seconds to decide to bring these little pots de creme beauties.

They are so elegant and perfect for our family of chocolate fanatics. I suppose I’ll just have to pretend I slaved away for hours so they don’t think I got away with the easy assignment.

A top view of a ramekin with cooked chocolate cream with a bite taken out.

One Year Ago: Toffee Crumble Caramel Apple Pie {And a Really Critical Flowchart}
Two Years Ago: Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells with Sage Browned Butter
Three Years Ago: The Ultimate 7-Layer Dip

alt=""

Chocolate Pots de Creme

4.71 stars (17 ratings)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (340 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup (53 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Lightly sweetened whipped cream and berries or pomegranate arils for serving

Instructions 

  • In the bowl of a food processor, combine the chocolate, salt, sugar and eggs in a food processor or blender and pulse until well mixed. The mixture might look a little granular or curdled; that’s ok.
  • Heat the heavy cream to just simmering. Drizzle the hot cream into the food processor, while pulsing, until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and pulse to combine.
  • Pour into dishes or cups and press plastic wrap directly across the surface to avoid the cream forming a skin. Chill at least an hour (they can be chilled up to several days). Garnish with fresh whipped cream and berries, if desired.

Notes

Chocolate: semisweet and bittersweet differ quite a bit in sweetness – I used bittersweet chocolate (about 60% cacao) and thought they were perfect but you might want to play with the sugar amount depending on the chocolate you use (I think the sugar amount is just fine for semisweet chocolate – but if you use bittersweet and like things a bit sweeter, consider adding a bit more). I haven’t tried it with milk chocolate so I’m not sure how it would work out; feel free to experiment.
Serving: I used my shallow creme brûlée dishes for these but you could use glass cups, small bowls or even those clear plastic cups if serving a crowd. And shhhh, don’t tell, but Sara, who gave me the recipe, confessed that sometimes she makes a batch, pours it into a large serving dish and dips in each day for a little chocolate therapy.
Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 669kcal, Carbohydrates: 41g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 53g, Saturated Fat: 32g, Cholesterol: 174mg, Sodium: 157mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 30g

Recipe Source: adapted (basically just doubled) from a blog reader, Sara M. (thank you, Sara!)