Coffee Pots De Creme
Submitted by BonusMom
Coffee pots de creme infused with whole roasted coffee beans and Kahlua, baked in a water bath, and topped with homemade almond praline. A silky French custard dessert.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
30 minREADY
60 minPots de creme is French custard at its most refined, and this coffee version infuses the cream with whole roasted coffee beans for a deep, rounded flavor that instant coffee can’t touch. The beans simmer gently in cream, steep for 30 minutes, then get strained out, leaving behind pure coffee essence.
Six egg yolks, superfine sugar, and a splash of Kahlua get whisked into that coffee cream, then the custards bake gently in a water bath until barely set with a slight wobble. The water bath is what keeps the texture silky and prevents the edges from overcooking while the centers catch up.
The homemade almond praline on top is worth every extra minute. Toasted slivered almonds coated in crackling amber caramel, chopped into shards and scattered over whipped cream.
Kitchen Tips
- Steep the beans a full 30 minutes for intense coffee flavor. Shorter steeping gives a weak, washed-out taste
- Strain through a fine sieve to catch any small bean fragments. Even tiny bits ruin the silky texture
- Bake until just set with a wobble in the center. Overbaked custard turns grainy
- For the praline, don’t stir once the sugar syrup boils. Stirring causes crystallization. Just swirl the pan gently
Variations
- Chocolate coffee: Add 2 ounces melted dark chocolate to the cream for a mocha version
- Vanilla bean: Skip the coffee beans and split a vanilla pod into the cream for a classic vanilla pot de creme
- Swap Kahlua for Tia Maria or Frangelico for a hazelnut twist
Ingredients
Directions
Pour cream into saucepan, bring to the boil, add coffee beans, reduce heat.
Simmer gently 3 minutes, remove from heat, stand for 30 minutes, strain.
Whisk egg yolks, sugar and kaluha in a bowl, whisk in coffee-flavoured cream.
Pour mixture into individual ovenproof dishes (⅓ cup capacity).
Place dishes into a lamington pan** Pour enough hot water into the pan to come half way up the side of the dishes.
Cover with foil or lids, bake in slow oven for about 20 minutes or until mixture is just set.
Cool, refrigerate before serving.
PRALINE: Place almonds into a saucepan, stir constantly over heat until lightly browned, spread evenly onto a lightly greased oven tray.
Combine sugar and water in same pan, stir constantly over heat without boiling until sugar is dissolved.
Boil rapidly without stirring until mixture turns golden brown.
Remove from heat, allow bubbles to subside, pour over almonds, chop roughly when set.
Decorate pots de creme with extra whipped cream and praline.
(** A lamington dish is a wide shallow metal dish for baking)
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