Spread the love with these chocolatey treats.

Photography: Maya Visnyei | Styling: Claire Stubbs

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups whipping cream (35%)
• 1  cup 2% milk
• 2  cinnamon sticks, halved
• 170 g dark chocolate, finely chopped (about 6 oz)
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1⁄3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1⁄2 tsp vanilla
• chocolate shavings (optional)

Directions

1 Line roasting pan with tea towel; place six 6-oz ramekins inside pan. In medium saucepan, bring cream, milk and cinnamon sticks almost to boil over heat. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 20 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, place chocolate in heatproof bowl. In separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, brown sugar and vanilla. Set aside.

3 Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove and discard cinnamon sticks from cream mixture; return pan to medium heat just until bubbles form around edge. Pour over chocolate; let stand, without stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth. Gradually pour chocolate mixture into egg mixture, whisking constantly; strain through fine-mesh sieve into large liquid measure.

4 Pour chocolate custard mixture evenly into ramekins. Pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides; cover with foil. Bake until edges are set yet centres are still slightly jiggly, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer ramekins to rack; let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. Top with chocolate shavings (if using).

Makes 6 servings

Tip

Photography: Maya Visnyei | Styling: Claire Stubbs

Gently whisking the hot chocolate mixture into the egg mixture — known as tempering — will result in a smooth custard and not a curdled mess.