{31 Days of Hospitality} Day 20 ~ Sweets For the Sweet

Not to Impress, But to Bless

Another October Saturday, and another day to chat about food.  

So far, we have talked about appetizers, and we have talked about collecting some "go to" recipes.  But who doesn't love to talk about desserts? 

The thing is...I rarely prepare desserts.  

Oh I'll bet now you're all afraid to come to my house for dinner, thinking that you will not get dessert.  But never fear, you will definitely get dessert.   The reason that I rarely prepare desserts is that I have a resident baker!  My daughter Kati is a baker extraordinaire!  As a matter of fact, she is  hosting her own 31-day series this month: 31 Days of Decadent Desserts!  Go take a look (although I'm afraid you may not come back).  Oh my.  

(Perhaps now you've gone from fear of no dessert to envy of my good fortune. ~smile~)  

Desserts usually play a starring role in entertaining, don't they?  The grand finale, so to speak.  

Most people like to end the meal with a little something sweet.

I find that dessert-and-coffee time allows for lingering and chatting and sharing.  At our house, we sometimes leave the dining room table and take dessert into the living room where a small-ish group can settle into comfy seats.  If it's a large group, we usually drag chairs into the farmhouse kitchen and gather in a big circle.  

On the occasions that I have made desserts over the past few years, I have often used ramekins.  

I was introduced to the idea of using ramekins by Sandy at The Reluctant Entertainer.  (This is my favorite entertaining blog!)  Sandy uses ramekins for serving everything from individual strawberry pies to apple charlottes to chicken pot pies.

I love that ramekins are cute.  I love that they offer individual portions.  I love that everyone has his/her own.  I love that they are easy to serve.  

I have used ramekins for individual crustless pumpkin pies, with a pastry leaf cut-out placed on the top.  

I have made apple crisp in my ramekins, allowing enough space to add a small scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.  

And I have made the recipe that I am sharing with you today.  (And, yes, there is a small degree of decadence here too.)  

Ingredients: 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped  2 cups heavy cream 2 cups milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 large eggs 6 tablespoons sugar 1/4 cup espresso (or 2 teaspoons instant espresso combined with 1/4 cup water) 1/3 cup heavy cream, whipped Directions: Place chocolate in large bowl.  Heat cream and milk in heavy saucepan over medium heat until just simmering. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in large bowl.  Whisk hot milk mixture into the eggs in a slow, steady stream, and return the mixture to the saucepan.   Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of spoon, about 9 minutes.     Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate.  Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in espresso and vanilla, and pour 1/3 cup of custard into each of 16 ramekins, custard cups, or small teacups.   Chill until set, about an hour.   Garnish with whipped cream and finely chopped chocolate or berries.

~ I'm adding this recipe to Kati's Decadent Desserts Link-up today! ~

  

Do you like to make desserts? What role does dessert play in your gatherings? 

Do you ever use ramekins?