Maple Pots de Crème

Pot de Creme: basically Creme Brulee minus the Brulee. I found this recipe on the blog 17 and Baking about a week ago and have been dying to try it ever since.

There is no sugar in this recipe, the custard is sweetened by the maple syrup alone. In a word: Ridiculous. These are sinful, rich, silky and pure deliciousness on a spoon. I will definitely be making them again for a dinner party as I know they will impress even a picky non-dessert-eating palette. 

They take about 10 minutes to assemble, are baked for 50 minutes in a water bath and then need to set in your fridge for at least an hour. They could easily be transformed into creme brulees if you think you'll miss the crunch. Personally, I find them sweet, but in a good way, and wouldn't want to tinker with them at all.

To take it over the top though, I think they should be served with a small crunchy cookie, perhaps a biscotti but certainly not a sugar cookie, which would be too sweet and not crunchy enough. But that's just me. I like to balance sweet with salty, creamy with crunch. In fact, I'm thinking that my Oatmeal Lace cookies would be the perfect accompaniment. And I may just add a few tiny crystals of Fleur de Sel to the cookies prior to baking them to give them that hint of saltiness that would surely compliment the sweet maple flavor. Yep, that's exactly what I'm going to do. You should too. You'll thank me later and I'll smile all sweet-like and say, "Told ya so."

Maple Pots de Crème
17 and Baking
Makes 4 servings
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. and arrange four ramekins in a rimmed baking dish.


Combine the cream, maple syrup, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat until it comes to a simmer. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Using a small ladle, add some hot cream to the egg yolks a few tablespoons at a time. Whisk the egg yolks into the cream in the saucepan until combined. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve.


Pour the mixture into the four ramekins. Carefully pour enough hot water into the rimmed baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the edges are set but the center gently jiggles when shook, about 50 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate at least one hour to chill.