Pot au Chocolat (V) from The Joy of Chocolate

Makes 4 pots

400ml (14fl oz) double cream

Pinch of crushed sea salt flakes

75g (2¾oz) unrefined golden caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or ½ vanilla pod, scraped

185g (6½oz) dark chocolate (65–70 per cent cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces

4 medium free-range egg yolks

Cocoa powder, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/325°F/gas 3.

Combine the cream, sea salt, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then immediately turn off the heat. Mix well and allow the vanilla to infuse for 5 minutes.

Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

Bring the cream mixture back to the boil, then pour it over the chocolate. Whisk until glossy – do this by hand, and avoid beating any air into the mix.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks until smooth and pale.

Add the hot chocolate cream to the eggs a little at a time and whisk until smooth.

Divide the mixture between your pots and place on a baking tray.

Put the tray in the oven, then immediately turn the oven off and leave the pots in the oven in the residual heat until the oven is cold (this can take about 8 hours, depending on your oven, so I usually leave them overnight).

Refrigerate the pots for 1 hour, then allow them to come to room temperature before serving. Top each one with a light dusting of cocoa powder and your favourite decoration; edible flowers add a wonderful pop of colour.

To add even more joy

Introduce seasonal twists. My favourites are:

For spring, gently poach some rhubarb with ginger and place in the bottom of the pots.

For summer, place raspberries in the bottom of the pots.

For autumn, put pears poached in red wine in the bottom of the pots.

For winter, add ground cinnamon and orange zest to cream when heating to infuse.

It’s your call: be adventurous, or revel in the simplicity.