When I was young, I would taste dark chocolate and wonder why on earth anyone would prefer it over creamy sweet milk chocolate.  Somewhere along the way, I guess my tastes changed regarding chocolate.  The darker the better!  My favorite at Trader Joe's is Valrhona chocolate, available in three "strengths"  (percentages of cacao, 56, 71 and 82% if my memory is right).  It's very smooth, intense, and melts beautifully.  I'm not big on too many sweets and candies, but this is my one indulgence.  I usually keep a bar stashed in the pantry (the 82% cacao) and, every once in a while in the evenings, I will break of a little piece to nibble and savor.   In fact, a few weeks ago, I peeked in on my son to give him a last goodnight kiss and he sleepily sighed, "mmm...Mommy I love you because your breath always smells like chocolate."  Apparently, I indulge a little more often than "every once in a while"...

Last night we had a delicious little chocolate custard.  The preparation was mostly telling one of my kids, "keep stirring!"   Some people get intimidated by desserts like creme brulee, panna cotta, flan, pot de creme, etc.  Maybe because they are often serve in upscale restaurants, implying they're hard to make.  The first time I ever made a creme brulee at home, my reaction was..."Is that all there is to it??" 

Here's an easy chocolate custard that doesn't require any baking.  Just mixing and cooking on the stovetop. If you'd like a vanilla flavor instead, you can substitute 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tbsp sugar for the chocolate and refrigerate for a couple hours longer.

Decadent Chocolate Custard

1 cup heavy cream
2 egg yolks
3.5 oz dark chocolate (1 bar)

1) Whisk the heavy cream and yolks together in a saucepan.  Bring the heat to medium-lo and continue stirring.
2) Break the chocolate into pieces and toss into the saucepan, continually stirring until the chocolate melts completely and the mixture looks very smooth and even in color.  Make sure that the mixture never comes to a boil, otherwise it will curdle and separate.
3) Once the mixture has thickened (coats a spoon thickly, ~10 minutes), remove from heat and pour into small ramekins or little ~3 oz glass bowls. 
4) Chill for about an hour.  For a thicker consistency (thicker than a custard) chill for about 2-3 hours.

Makes 4 servings

Note: A word for those watching their waistlines.  All of those cream-based desserts such as creme brulee, mousse, panna cotta, etc (including this recipe) are pretty fattening.  They are great "once in a while" desserts!  This one has about 500 calories per serving.  If you're looking for a lighter chocolate dessert, check out our South Seas Chocolate Mousse in the cookbook, which is made with coconut milk (MUCH lighter than heavy cream!) and tastes just as rich.