Venezuelan White Chocolate Custard, Pumpkin Cream Cheese, Dried Pumpkin Chips, Crushed Pistachio, Maple Poached Pumpkin Spheres, Powdered Maple Syrup, Mint
A Pot de crème is a traditional French custard dessert served in a souffle dish or "Pot". It is made with chocolate, eggs and cream and is usually looser in texture than a creme brulee or flan. A good Pot de crème has a silky smooth texture similar to a pudding. I made my custard the same as one would when potting it only I replaced the traditional dark chocolate with white and put it in a bowl or "Bol". Plating it this way gave me more options in garnishing.
I know a lot of people who detest white chocolate and see it as an abomination. I can understand this reaction as most white chocolate available to consumers is complete bullshit. It is way too sweet and often contains hydrogenated fats and not very much cocoa butter. But the stuff I used here is much different than the normal cheap white chocolate. It has a higher amount of cocoa solids and less sugar. And it actually tastes like chocolate. I picked this stuff up when traveling through Venezuela this summer. Venezuelans take their chocolate very seriously and make some of the best I have ever tasted. Most Americans wouldn't know this as it hard to get in the US. I wish I would have brought a suitcase full home with me.
I melted the chocolate in a double boiler stirring it til smooth. I whipped some egg yolks into it and then poured in hot milk and cream stirring again until everything was combined. I returned this mix to the double boiler and heated it to 170 degrees. I removed it from the heat and stirred it over an ice bath until it came down to 90 degrees. I poured it into the bowls, covered them with plastic wrap and refrigerated them overnight.
I made the pumpkin chips by shaving off pieces with a vegetable peeler and placing them in my dehydrator for about an hour. I made the spheres by poaching little balls of pumpkin in water with some star anise until they softened. I covered the spheres in maple syrup and let them marinate overnight.
I made the powder by mixing some of the maple syrup with tapioca maltodextrin til all of the moisture was absorbed. And the last step was crushing some toasted pistachio.
Product:
Organic Butternut Squash - Root Mass Farm
Organic PA Maple Syrup - Spring Hills Farm
Organic Mint - My Garden
I know a lot of people who detest white chocolate and see it as an abomination. I can understand this reaction as most white chocolate available to consumers is complete bullshit. It is way too sweet and often contains hydrogenated fats and not very much cocoa butter. But the stuff I used here is much different than the normal cheap white chocolate. It has a higher amount of cocoa solids and less sugar. And it actually tastes like chocolate. I picked this stuff up when traveling through Venezuela this summer. Venezuelans take their chocolate very seriously and make some of the best I have ever tasted. Most Americans wouldn't know this as it hard to get in the US. I wish I would have brought a suitcase full home with me.
I melted the chocolate in a double boiler stirring it til smooth. I whipped some egg yolks into it and then poured in hot milk and cream stirring again until everything was combined. I returned this mix to the double boiler and heated it to 170 degrees. I removed it from the heat and stirred it over an ice bath until it came down to 90 degrees. I poured it into the bowls, covered them with plastic wrap and refrigerated them overnight.
I made the pumpkin chips by shaving off pieces with a vegetable peeler and placing them in my dehydrator for about an hour. I made the spheres by poaching little balls of pumpkin in water with some star anise until they softened. I covered the spheres in maple syrup and let them marinate overnight.
I made the powder by mixing some of the maple syrup with tapioca maltodextrin til all of the moisture was absorbed. And the last step was crushing some toasted pistachio.
Product:
Organic Butternut Squash - Root Mass Farm
Organic PA Maple Syrup - Spring Hills Farm
Organic Mint - My Garden