Naughty but scrumptious milk chocolate treats

If you/we do not care too much about counting calories and have any spare chocolate, milk, cream or eggs (possibly leftovers from Xmas or Easter) this is the dessert for you/us.

It is a baked milky chocolate mousse adapted from a Neil Perry dark chocolate recipe; a winner with any child (especially the one within us all) It is rich but not as bad as a dark chocolate mousse that can be too cloying and bitter with more than one teaspoonful. This goes well on its own or with red fruit: raspberries and/or strawberries.

Foodstuff you will need: (8 portions or 4 large ones)

• 220g bar of milk chocolate divided into chunks (Cadbury’s dairy milk works very well)
• 250ml thick cream
• 250ml full fat milk
• 60ml caster sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• Kettle full of boiling water
• A handful of raspberries/strawberries per person

Equipment:

• Heavy based saucepan (that retains its heat once taken off the stove)
• Large mixing bowl
• Heat resistant pouring jug
• 8 ramekins/cups approx 8cm diameter & 4cm deep photo below is 6 + 1 larger size
• Large baking tin to take all the ramekins without touching each other
• Plastic spatula to scrape the bowls/jug/saucepan
• Electric whisk
• Heat resistant sieve
• Plastic waterproof heat resistant oven gloves
• Oven
• Wire rack for cooling ramekins

How to throw it together

• Heat oven to 175C
• Mix milk and cream together and bring to the boil in heavy based saucepan (but do not let it boil over)
• Meanwhile whisk the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla essence together in a large mixing bowl until all dissolved and mixture starts to thicken.

• Remove milk and cream from the heat and add the chocolate chunks into the saucepan, stirring all the time with the spatula until the chocolate is dissolved
• Heat a kettle or prepare boiling water
• Slowly add the chocolate mixture into the egg/sugar/vanilla essence mixture (whisking each time you add a bit more chocolate until all blended together)
• Pour the chocolate mixture through the sieve into the glass jug
• Pour the chocolate mixture from the jug into the ramekins to desired level. 
• Arrange your ramekins in the baking tin. With all the ramekins in the baking tin, pour in the boiling water until ½ way up the side of each ramekin.

• Place on a baking rack in lower half of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. The mixture should start to bubble and move once it is set. If nothing has happened after 30 minutes, leave for another few minutes.
• Remove the baking tin from the oven. Carefully remove each ramekin from the boiling water using the plastic oven gloves and place them on a wire rack to cool down. 

• Once cool, place in fridge overnight to fully set. You can eat these the same day, but it is better to leave overnight.
• Chop up strawberries and/or raspberries as garnish. Suggest eating the desert with a teaspoon. If you really want to be naughty, you can pour on a bit more cream. :)

Yummie!