S'more Chocolate Pots

I have a confession to make; I'm a little obsessed with s'mores. You should count yourself lucky that I've managed to hold out for over a year since my S'mores Cheesecake. There have been so many times when I've been brainstorming dessert ideas and have wanted to s'more it up a little. There's something about the combination of textures and varying levels of sweetness when you put melted chocolate, biscuit and toasted marshmallow together. Or maybe it's just because my inner pyromaniac wants me to get the blowtorch out more often ;)

If I was being really honest, allowing myself to handle a dangerous piece of equipment like a blowtorch is a really bad idea. I am one of the most uncoordinated people I know. When I was younger I would fall out of bed all the time, walk into corners, open doors onto my head, fall up stairs, trip on smooth surfaces, and manage to cut myself on any sharp pointy thing available. The first time I visited A's house, I took 2 steps into his garden and tripped down the steps and scraped my knee. When I was holidaying in Thailand we were wading in a shallow bay and I managed to find the ONLY rock in the entire area covered in sharp oyster shells and step backwards onto it without looking. It has gotten better over time, or at least I thought it had until last week. Apparently using a blunt knife to get an avocado seed out when you're half asleep is a very bad idea. Knives tend to slip and go all the way through fingers. Yes, all the way through. Ow.

The only thing that really has bugged me about my recent bout of uncoordination is that it's stopped me from baking, since getting flour all around the cut seemed like a bad idea. But A was a smart cookie and bought me some gloves so that I could whip up this dessert that I've been thinking about all week. I finally gave in to my cravings and came up with these S'more Chocolate Pots. Rich, creamy dark chocolate pot de cremes minus the booze to make them kid-friendly, topped with a cloud of homemade marshmallow fluff which was torched to give it a lovely toasty outside. And some biscuits for dipping into it of course!

Originally I had planned to make my own Graham crackers, but I decided to keep things simple and bought some digestives instead. I hardly ever feel like making desserts that take more than one day of preparation. But imagine how cute your own homemade Graham cracker spoons/soldiers would be with this! This dessert isn't the same without the biscuit part, it helps to mellow the intensity of the sweetness. Make sure you have lots of extra biscuits handy to serve with these!

To be honest the tea cups I used in the photos were way too big for such a rich, decadent dessert, and I was left with a lot of leftover marshmallow icing, which I plan to spoon over these cups once I make it through the top layer. If I was to do this for a party, I would probably do tiny individual portions of chocolate in shot glasses, with the homemade graham cracker spoons. Seriously, how freaking adorable would that be? This rich dessert made slightly bitter thanks to the dark chocolate and hint of coffee is the perfect match for the light, sweet marshmallow fluff. And please make the fluff yourself, it tastes so much better than the supermarket stuff.

S'more Chocolate Pots
(adapted from this Gourmet Traveller recipe, and this Martha Stewart recipe, serves 6-10 people depending on the size of your serving cups)
200g dark chocolate (64.5% cocoa solids), melted
300ml pouring cream, whisked to soft peaks
2 tbsp freshly brewed coffee
3 egg yolks
55 gm (1/4 cup)caster sugar

For the marshmallow fluff:
3 egg whites
165g (3/4 cup) sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp pure vanilla essence

To serve: Graham crackers/digestive biscuits, or you could try making your own, cut into shapes or crumbled over the top

Heat chocolate, cream and coffee in a heatproof bowl placed over gently boiling water, stirring occasionally, until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a separate heatproof bowl placed over simmering water for 5 minutes or until thick and pale. Combine chocolate and egg yolk mixture in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on high for 5 minutes or until mixture is thick and cool. Pour into serving cups and chill in the fridge for at least two hours or until set.

Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk with an electric mixer, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Spoon/pipe a generous amount over the tops of chocolate pots. Use a blowtorch or the grill of your oven to toast the top of the icing. Serve with biscuits.

I am a little irked with this set of photos, but I'm going to blame the disappearing light which made me rush around and my finger injury making it hard to hold the camera steady rather than my crappy photography skills! P.S. Don't be like me and be so impatient that you can't wait til the chocolate pots are set before sticking your spoon in. Also, just a warning that the blog might be a little bit quiet for the next few weeks as I'll have little time to bake, which fills me with guilt. And I'm feeling super guilty about the fact that I haven't replied everyones comments in FOREVER. But as per usual if anyone has any direct questions I'll do my best to reply them as soon as possible. You guys always cheer me up with your sweet comments!