9 April 2014  5:18p

Today in Pastries and Desserts, we made two egg-thickened custards:  Pots de creme and fresh fruit with lemon sabayon.

Pots de creme

12 ounces chocolate (we used semisweet, though the original recipe calls for milk), chopped
5 large egg yolks
2 T sugar
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. half-and-half
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 t expresso powder dissolved in 1 T water (we used a pinch more espresso powder)

1/2 c. heavy cream
2 t sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract

garnish:
cocoa powder or chocolate shavings

Place chocolate in medium-sized heatproof bowl;  set fine-mesh strainer over bowl and set aside.

Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt in medium bowl until combined;  whisk in heavy cream and half-and-half.  Transfer mixture to double-boiler, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom occasionally, until custard registers 160-165 deg. F, about 8 to 12 minutes.

Immediately strain custard over chopped chocolate, and allow the chocolate to soften for five minutes.  Whisk gently until smooth, then whisk in espresso and vanilla.

Divide custard evenly among 8 5-oz. ramekins.  Gently tap ramekins on counter to remove air bubbles.

Cool pots de creme to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, up to 72 hours.  Before serving, allow to come to room temperature, 20 or 30 minutes.

Lemon Sabayon

1/4 c. water
1/2 t grated lemon zest, and 3 T juice from a large, juicy lemon (we used 4 T, or 1/4 c.)
pinch salt
3 large egg yolks
1/3 c. sugar (about 2 1/3 ounces)

Combine the water, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt in small bowl and set aside.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until frothy, about 1 minute.  Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Continue whisking until mixture thickens, 5 to 7 minutes.  Remove from heat, and continue whisking to cool.  Set aside.

We put the sabayon on fresh berries:  strawberries, blueberries, blackberries.  We scooped the fruit into serving bowls and topped it with the sabayon.  Some people added a dollop of whipped cream.

In other events, my dive computer died.  It's eaten two batteries in about two years' time now, and when I talked with Peter about it, he commented that it's possible that the computer was somehow defective and therefore drinking power from the batteries faster than another computer.  I'm considering buying a new computer, but Peter said that I can just buy a new battery to keep diving for now.  I hate throwing good money after bad (dive computers are not supposed to eat batteries in multiples over the course of just a few years!  I don't dive *that* much!).  There's the model that Peter uses, and it can be obtained for about $280, including a discount from an online coupon.

The dead computer battery comes on top of a dead backup light, which means no night dives for me until I get a new one.  I saw a backup torch for about $60.

Altogether, it'd be about $350 to be fully-outfitted again.  That is something I'll need to think about, though there's some time pressure because we're scheduled to go on a couple of boat dives in the coming weeks.  Might just splurge this time.  I'll let you know.

nkp.