James Martin's White Chocolate Pots Recipe

For a really impressive dinner party dessert recipe, try these sweet chocolate pots - they look super impressive and your guests will be really impressed.

HOW TO MAKE WHITE CHOCOLATE POTS

Ingredients

For the chocolate pots

:

• 150g white chocolate, roughly chopped
• 4 egg yolks
• 75g caster sugar
• 100ml double cream

For the puff pastry shards:

• 100g puff pastry
• flour, for dusting
• 1tbsp icing sugar

For the white balsamic glaze:

• 50ml white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 10g ultratex (available from

MSK Specialist Ingredients

• )

To serve

:

• 100g wild strawberries and pine berries (or small strawberries)
• 1 small handful mint sprigs

Method

1. Start by making the chocolate pots. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering (not boiling) water. The bowl should not touch the water.
2. While the chocolate melts, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a food mixer, or in a bowl using an electric whisk, until very thick and pale. Pour the melted chocolate onto the eggs and whisk until incorporated. In a separate bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into 6 small serving pots or ramekins, then place in the fridge until set, at least 2 hours.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C, gas 6. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of about 3mm. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with silicone paper, then place another sheet of silicone paper over the top, followed by another baking sheet the same size. You want the pastry not to rise, so the sheets need to sit snugly, one on top of the other.
4. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until cooked through and golden brown. Remove and leave to cool between the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Cut the cooked pastry into 6 rectangles measuring 15cm x 2.5cm then dust with the icing sugar. Glaze with a blow torch or under the grill until golden brown.
6. Heat the white balsamic vinegar and caster sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar has melted, then take off of the heat and whisk in the ultratex. This will thicken the liquid to a gel-like texture. Allow to cool a little before spooning into a small piping bag, then snip off the tip about 3mm from the end.
7. Place the chocolate pots onto serving plates, then lay one puff pastry shard over the top of each pot. Decorate the pastry with the berries, small sprigs of mint and dots of the white balsamic glaze.