No Bake Orange Chocolate Pots de Creme Recipe

These no bake orange chocolate pots de creme use the whole orange, both as an ingredient and as a serving bowl.

Traditional French chocolate 'pots de crème' involve both cooking a custard on the stove and then baking the chocolate custard before chilling. Because I wanted to serve my orange chocolate pots in orange shells, I knew I wouldn't be able to bake these because I wanted to keep the orange bowls fresh and intact.

Instead, I cooked the custard part of the recipe twice: once to spoon-coating stage which is how you usually do it, and again after the orange juice is added to cook and thicken it even more.

The order of which you add the cream and the orange juice counts – because orange juice is acidic, you risk curdling the cream if you add them at the wrong times and temperatures. Because my way sees the cream already cooked with other ingredients (namely egg yolks) before the orange juice, it avoids this potential kitchen gaffe.

To make these orange chocolate pots de creme even orange-ier, I add a little orange extract. If you can't get your hands on orange extract it doesn't matter, but I find it does add an extra zing to the orange chocolate cream without having to add zest and spoil the smooth texture. You can also infuse the cream with orange peel instead of using orange extract, but this takes an extra step and you'll need an extra orange to sacrifice for the peel.

Be extra careful when scooping out the oranges to make the orange shells – the bottoms and tops are particularly susceptible to holes if you dig too hard.

You can also watch me make this on my YouTube channel, Tashcakes:

Ready? Let's go.

(Makes four full servings, plus an extra fifth serving of the chocolate cream.)

Ingredients:

2 oranges
250ml double cream
4 egg yolks
40g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp orange extract
160g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa solids)

To Serve (Optional):

Clotted cream
Chocolate shavings

Method:

1. Halve both oranges, squeeze and reserve the juice, and use a spoon to gently scrape out and discard the leftover pulp and stringy bits (take care not to make holes at the bottom). Place the orange shells on a small tray to make it easier to move them around.

2. Measure out 125ml orange juice – you won't need the rest of the juice, so feel free to drink the leftovers.

3. In a small saucepan, gently heat the double cream until steaming hot.

4. While the cream is heating, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt together.

5. As soon as the cream starts steaming, pour it onto the egg yolk mixture, stirring vigorously and continuously.

6. Pour the cream mixture back into the saucepan, and stir continuously over a low to medium heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

7. While still on the heat, stir in your reserved orange juice and the orange extract, and cook for another two or three minutes – keep stirring.

8. Strain the hot orange cream through a sieve straight into a bowl or large pouring jug containing the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute before stirring until smooth and well combined.

9. Fill your hollowed-out orange halves with the orange chocolate cream, and scoop the leftover orange cream into a separate ramekin (you can also prepare an extra fifth orange shell if you like).

10. Chill in the fridge for 2–4 hours, and, if you like, serve your no-bake pots de creme with clotted cream and chocolate shavings.

Enjoy, and have fun.