SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE POT

As you might know from previous blog posts, I am obsessed with salted caramel - it is my favourite - salted caramel cupcakes, salted caramel brownies, Haagen Dazs salted caramel ice cream, Green and Black's salted caramel milk chocolate thins…..you get the picture!! Therefore when I saw a recipe for salted caramel chocolate pots in Olive magazine, I couldn't wait to make them. We had friends for supper on Saturday night and cooked roast pork belly and fennel gratin and so these made the perfect pudding.

They take 30 minutes to prepare, however you need to chill them in the fridge for a couple of hours at least and then take them out of the fridge an hour before you serve, in order for the chocolate to soften. I used glasses for the pudding however you could use kilner jars or ramekins instead….whatever you have round the house.

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

350ml double cream
2 tbsp caster sugar
200g 70% dark chocolate, chopped (I would use a combination of milk and dark next time)
50g unsalted butter, diced
100ml whole milk
creme fraiche to serve (I would use vanilla ice cream next time)

Caramel
200g caster sugar
100g butter
100ml double cream
1 tsp sea salt flakes

To make the caramel, heat 200g of caster sugar in a large, heavy based pan over a medium heat, until melted. I have never done this before and was so surprised that it actually worked!! It took about 10 minutes and I gave it a stir a few times towards the end.

Take off the heat.

I had a problem in that some of my sugar clumped together, I have no idea why! I looked it up on the Internet and if you also have this problem, add two tablespoons of tap water to the caramel, add it back to a low heat and stir to melt any lumps that have formed.

Take off the heat again and stir in the butter, cream and sea salt.

Pour into the base of the moulds, put to one side and chill. I used 4 glasses and I measured them on scales to make sure I divided the caramel evenly.

For the chocolate, heat the cream and sugar until it comes to the boil.

Take off the heat and whisk in the chocolate and butter.

Once it's all mixed in, add the milk.

Allow to cool and then pour onto the caramel.

Put in the fridge for a few hours to set.

Remove from the fridge for an hour before serving to allow the chocolate to soften. Top with a spoonful of creme fraiche and serve.

These were good although not as great as I was expecting. As I mentioned in the ingredients list, I would use a combination of milk and dark chocolate to soften the taste next time and I would also replace the creme fraiche with vanilla ice cream. I think these little alterations would make all the difference and will make the pudding change from good to great.