I had an epiphany this weekend: if I felt so inclined, I could go ahead and buy my own kitchenware. No one could stop me from driving to Bed Bath & Beyond and getting what I wanted. Gone are the days where my baking is limited to what I have on hand. The recipe would be best served individually in ramekins? Now that’s a possibility! Tarts and cheesecakes involve special pans? A springform pan is very likely in my future. I’m unstoppable!

But seriously, it felt very adult to go invest $14 in a set of 8 ramekins. Now, in the world in which I have fancy dinner parties for 7 of my closest friends (a world yet to exist, I admit), I can serve them individual pretty desserts to top off the meal. That’s a pretty exciting development in my life.

Of course, adding whiskey to an otherwise fancy custard does seem to detract points from my adult decision making, but I am still only 25.

First, in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and Kahlua and set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat the heavy cream and whiskey over medium-low heat until just barely simmering, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth. While whisking constantly, add 3 tablespoons of the hot cream mixture to the egg mixture to temper the eggs.Pour the egg mixture back into the hot cream mixture and whisk to combine.Strain the chocolate mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl.Divide the batter evenly between 6 8-oz ramekins.Cover each with tinfoil and place in 9×13 cake pan. Fill pan with hot water halfway up ramekins.Place oven rack in lower third of oven and bake at 325°F for 50 minutes, or until custards are set but jiggle a bit in the middle.Take off aluminum foil and remove from hot water.At this point, I took lots of pictures. But what you should do is put the custards in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours before serving. I emptied out the baking pan of water and put them back in that, loosely covering it with tinfoil. You don’t want to individually cover them because that will result in annoying condensation.

Once they’re sufficiently chilled, dig in! Would definitely be good with a dollop of homemade whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Whiskey Pots de Creme

Ingredients:

• 6 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
• 2 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup whiskey
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and Kahlua. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, heat heavy cream and whiskey, stirring frequently, until just simmering.
3. Remove from heat and stir in chopped chocolate until melted and smooth.
4. While continuously whisking, add 3 tablespoons of hot cream mixture, one at a time, to the egg mixture, to temper the eggs.
5. Whisk the egg mixture back into the hot cream mixture.
6. Strain batter through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl.
7. Divide batter evenly between six 8-ounce ramekins.
8. Place ramekins in a 9×13 inch cake pan and cover each with aluminum foil. Fill pan with hot water halfway up ramekins.
9. Place oven rack in lower third of oven. Bake at 325°F for 50 minutes, or until custards are set and jiggle slightly in the middle.
10. Take off aluminum foil and remove from water bath. Place in fridge to chill for at least 8 hours before serving.