Chocolate pots with toasted marshmallow

I had no idea what a s’more was until I read this gorgeous post from Kay at Pure Complex. A quick search online told me that it was a traditional American campfire snack of chocolate with toasted marshmallow, sandwiched between two graham crackers.

There was something appealing about the combination of textures and flavours, and the pictures were too damn cute for me not to want to try it.

My recipe below pretty closely follows the recipe and recommendations from Raspberri Cupcakes to make espresso cup-sized rich, creamy chocolate pot de crèmes with a fluffy meringue topping that has been toasted, served with digestive biscuits. You really don’t need any more than this size, and it’s a really lovely end to dinner.

Before I was let loose with my blowtorch

Ingredients makes 6 espresso cup-sized desserts

1. 100g dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70% cocoa)
2. 150ml pouring cream
3. 1 tbsp freshly brewed coffee
4. 2 egg yolks
5. 25g caster sugar
6. pinch salt

For the marshmallow fluff:

1. 2 egg whites
2. pinch of salt
3. 80g sugar

Digestive biscuits to serve

Method

1. Heat chocolate, cream and coffee in a saucepan on low heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth
2. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a separate heatproof bowl placed over simmering water for 5 minutes or until thick and pale
3. Slowly pour the chocolate and egg/sugar mixture and whisk on high for 5 minutes or until mixture is thick and cool
4. Pour into serving cups and chill in the fridge for at least two hours
5. To make the marshmallow:
6. Making sure your bowl is clean and dry, whisk together the egg whites and salt until foamy and at least doubled in size
7. S-l-o-w-l-y incorporate the sugar, continually beating after each addition, to make sure the sugar has dissolved and you get stiff glossy peaks
8. I have made meringue so many times and the only time I can control it, especially in such small cups, is to pipe it over the chocolate, but if you are feeling a bit on the wild side, go nuts doing this freehand
9. Using a blowtorch, carefully toast the marshmallow and enjoy that comforting smell
10. Serve with digestive biscuits either cut to shapes/soldiers or crumbled over the top