Crême de Choclat (Chocolate Creme)

A very rich, intensely chocolatey cross between a ganache and a creme anglaise. Pair with Biscuits de Chocolat for a dessert à la Marie Antoinette

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City/Region: France

Time Period: 1715

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Marie Antoinette loved dessert, and even the water she drank was sweetened; she would keep pounded sugar on hand and stir in a few spoonfuls before drinking it. The daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor and Empress, she left her home of Vienna at 14 in order to marry the heir apparent to the French throne, Louis Auguste (Louis XVI). That’s a lot for a 14-year-old, but at least she got to bring along her own personal chocolatier, who would have possibly made her such decadent treats as this chocolate creme. It is smooth, dark, rich, and very chocolatey. Absolutely delicious.

“This requires one chopine of milk, a half-septier of cream, the yolk of two fresh eggs, and three ounces of sugar. Mix them all together and boil it for a quarter hour, stirring with a spatula; then add some good grated chocolate, as much as is needed to give it taste and color; allow it five or six boils then pass through a sieve, and serve it cold. ”

— Instruction Pour Les Confitures, Les Liqueurs, et Les Fruits by François Massialot, 1715

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups (475 ml) whole milk
• 1 cup (235 ml) cream
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 cup (198 g) sugar
• 4-6 ounces (110 g-170 g) unsweetened chocolate, grated, more or less to taste

Instructions:

1. Mix everything but the chocolate in a saucepan and set it over medium heat. Bring to a light simmer and then let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. It will start to thicken.
2. Add the grated chocolate and quickly mix it in. Heat the mixture until it bubbles, then remove it from the heat until it calms down. Repeat 5 or 6 times. This runs the risk of overheating the chocolate, and if it does, it will seize and become lumpy. If this happens, you can save it by stirring in a couple tablespoons of cream at a time until the mixture becomes smooth and glossy.
3. Pass the chocolate creme through a sieve and pour into serving dishes, then chill.
4. Serve them forth with Biscuits de Chocolat.

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